MONMOUTH, Ill. - The Grinnell College volleyball team and Midwest Conference Tournament are becoming quite familiar with one another.

The Pioneers qualified for the league's four-team postseason event for the fourth year in a row and sixth time overall with a nail-biter of a five-set victory over Monmouth College Saturday afternoon.

Grinnell, which won by scores of 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 23-25 and 18-16, improved to 6-2 in the MWC and 21-4 overall. The overall win total is tied for second-most in program history, matching the victory count in 2002. The school record for wins in a season is 23, established in 1998. 

The Pioneers' task wasn't easy Saturday, as they rallied to win the first two sets and then came back after losing the next two sets. 

Kaylin Kuhn '21 again led the Pioneers at the net with 29 kills, while Rachel Woock '23 came up with 16. Julianna Roth '22 dished out 58 assists and served four aces. Payton Lowrey '22 had three aces and Kuhn and Julia Welch '22 came up with two each.

Kuhn set a school record for attack attempts in a match with 90, and her 29 kills rank ninth all-time. The team's 226 attack attempts are third-best in program history.

Anna Killin '22 led the way in blocks with three. Lowrey was tops in digs with 30, Woock had 23, Roth came up with 19, Emmy Nyquist '23 tallied 14 and Kuhn added 13.

Grinnell trailed the first set 21-19 before reeling off four points in a row, with Kuhn getting a kill in that span and Nyquist serving three of the points. After Monmouth made it 23-22, Woock had a kill and then served a point for the win.

The second set saw Monmouth take a 15-13 lead before the visitors went on a four-point run, as Kuhn had two kills, Woock another and Roth an ace serve for a 17-15 lead. Monmouth closed within two points a few times, but Grinnell emerged with the win.

Monmouth, 3-5 in the MWC and 11-13 overall, turned the tables in the third set and nearly let a 17-9 lead slip away in the fourth before pulling out the win, forcing a fifth set.

The teams went back and forth in the desivie set, with Monmouth leading 13-12 when Killin had a kill and an attack error by Monmouth put Grinnell at match point at 14-13. Grinnell also had match points at 15-14 and 16-15, and once again at 17-16 after a kill by Olivia Jensen '22. Kuhn finished off the win with a kill on Roth's assist, sending the Pioneers into celebration.

There was plenty of movement on Grinnell's career chart, as Kuhn now ranks fifth in kills with 1,126 and sixth in aces with 126. Lowrey ranks ninth in aces with 106 and Roth is one assist shy of the 2,000 milestone.

On the all-time season chart, Lowrey ranks ninth for aces with 52, Kuhn is 10th in kills with 377 and Roth 10th in assists with 831. The team's 218 aces rank sixth.

Grinnell closes out MWC play Wednesday with a home match against Cornell College. The Rams clinched at least a share of the league title Saturday and hosting rights for the MWC Tournament. Action at Darby Gymnasium is set for 7 p.m.