MONMOUTH, Ill. – Grinnell College claimed a spot in the Midwest Conference Volleyball Tournament for the fourth time in school history, and made it back-to-back appearances for the first time ever with a four-set win over Monmouth College Saturday afternoon.
 
The Pioneers, who already have the most wins for the program since 2002, improved to 16-8 overall and 5-4 in the MWC.
 
It was a banner day for Pioneer athletics, as for just the second time Grinnell's volleyball, men's soccer and women's soccer teams all qualified for the MWC Tournament in the same season.
 
Grinnell will be the fourth seed in the MWC Tournament and face top-seeded Cornell College next Friday in Mount Vernon.
 
Olivia Jensen '21 pounded down 15 kills for the Pioneers and hit .419, while Kaylin Kuhn '21 added 11 kills and Margaret Giles '18 42 assists.
 
Sydney Vrecenar '18 and Deanna Taylor '18 each had two ace serves.
 
Taylor contributed 25 digs to put her at 429 this year, a figure that is fifth-best in Pioneer history for a season. Giles added 16 digs, Kuhn had 15 and Vrecenar 14.
 
The Pioneers made a huge rally in the first set, coming back from a 13-5 deficit on Taylor's serve. She served eight points in a row, including an ace and two kills by Jensen, to put Grinnell ahead 14-13. It was a 22-21 lead later when two Monmouth attack errors and kill by Vrecenar gave Grinnell the win.
 
The Fighting Scots got out to a quick lead in the second set, too, on their way to victory.
 
The teams were tied 16-all in the third set when Grinnell scored nine of the next 12 points. Madison Smith '20 and Vrecenar each had two-point service runs in that span, and Kuhn provided two kills.
 
Grinnell led the fourth set 7-6 before opening up things with a 10-3 run. Jensen served three points, Smith two and Vrecenar and Kuhn provided two kills apiece.
 
With the loss, Monmouth finished at 8-20 overall and 1-8 in the league.