GRINNELL, Iowa – Grinnell College's volleyball team stood toe-to-toe with a team recently ranked among the nation's top 25 squads before falling in three sets at Darby Gymnasium Wednesday night.
 
Cornell College, which is now receiving votes for the rankings, won by scores of 25-18, 25-22 and 25-16 to improve to 1-0 in the Midwest Conference and 13-5 in all matches. Grinnell is 0-1 in league play and 10-4 in all matches.
 
Kaylin Kuhn '21 had a match-high 14 kills for the Pioneers and hit .236, while Olivia Jensen '21 hit .350. Margaret Giles '18 came up with 17 assists, while Kuhn and Deanna Taylor '18 tallied 16 digs each and Madison Smith '20 added 11.
 
Grinnell led the first set 10-8 after Kuhn's kill, but the Rams answered with a 6-1 run to go ahead for good. The Pioneers led 17-13 in the second set thanks in part to a four-point service run by Taylor. However, Cornell answered with a run of its own to go up 19-17.
 
Grinnell then rallied, tying things at 20-all on Giles' kill and 21-all on a kill by Kuhn. However, Cornell scored four of the last five points to win.
 
The Rams led the third set 5-4 before scoring six of the next seven points to pull away for the win.
 
The Pioneers take to the road to face Ripon College at 11 a.m. Saturday.