RIPON, Wis. – Grinnell College took Ripon College to the wire before losing a five-set volleyball thriller Saturday afternoon in a match that saw Deanna Taylor '18 break the school record for digs.
 
The Red Hawks claimed a 19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 15-12 victory to improve to 1-0 in the MWC and 6-12 overall. Grinnell is 0-2 in the league and 10-5 overall.

Taylor tallied 40 digs, beating the previous school mark of 39 established by Jamie Snider against Webster in 1997.
 
Olivia Jensen '21 had a big day at the net for Grinnell with 16 kills and a .341 hitting efficiency to go along with four ace serves.
 
Kaylin Kuhn '21 added 16 kills and 20 digs, while Emma Willhardt '19 tallied a team-high 17 kills to go with five total blocks. Margaret Giles '18 added 50 assists and 14 digs, Madison Smith '20 had 18 digs and Sydney Vrecenar '18 tallied 15.
 
Grinnell used a six-point run in the opening set to pull away for the win. Ripon won close decisions in the second and third sets, and looked to be on its way to a four-set victory when the Pioneers came roaring back.
 
Trailing 23-20 in the fourth set, Grinnell got a point on a ball handling error and another on Vrecenar's serve to come within one. After Ripon scored, Jensen and Kuhn pounded down consecutive kills to tie things up. After a hitting error on Ripon, Jensen finished off the win with an ace serve.
 
Jensen had a three-point service run in the fifth set and got Grinnell ahead 9-5 before Ripon responded to win.
 
Grinnell returns home for another MWC contest Tuesday when Knox College visits Darby Gymnasium. Action begins at 7 p.m.