LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Grinnell College's volleyball team made a valiant comeback to win the third set after losing two-point nailbiters in the first and second.
But host Lake Forest College rebounded in the fourth set with a 25-18 decision to defeat the Pioneers 3-1 in Midwest Conference volleyball action Friday night. Lake Forest won the first two sets by 26-24 scores and Grinnell rallied to win the third set 25-22.
Kaylin Kuhn '21 had 16 kills for Grinnell,
Emma Willhardt '19 and
Hannah Taylor '20 each added eight and
Anna Killin '22 a career-high seven.
Julianna Roth '22 had 42 assists and five players added double-digit digs, led by 20 from
Madison Smith's '20. Roth and
Payton Lowrey '22 each had 12 digs and Kuhn and
Julia Welch '22 tallied 10 apiece.
Willhardt and Taylor each had three total blocks, and Willhardt moved into sixth on Grinnell's all-time solo blocks list with her career 90th.
Neither team led the first set by more than two points. Grinnell grabbed a 23-22 lead on a Lake Forest attack error and went up 24-23 on a Forester serving error. However, Lake Forest scored three in a row to secure the win. The Pioneers trailed the second set 20-17 before rallying, eventually tying it at 22-all on a Forester ball handling error. Taylor then had a kill and Lake Forest an attack error to put Grinnell a point from victory. But Lake Forest scored four in a row to win.
The Pioneers bounced back in the third set, using a three-point service run by Smith to help build a 10-6 lead. Lake Forest gradually inched back and eventually went ahead, the final time at 21-20. Kuhn and Willhardt followed with kills and Lake Forest had a ball handling error to make it 23-21. After a Forester point, two Lake Forest attack errors helped Grinnell earn the win.
Lake Forest burst out to a 16-8 lead in the fourth set and went on to win, improving to 2-0 in the MWC and 9-11 overall. Grinnell is 2-1 in the league and 11-12 in all matches.
Grinnell returns to the court Saturday with a match at Beloit College, beginning at 1 p.m.
