Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Grinnell College Athletics

Grinnell College logo - go to site
Championship Banner
Ted Schultz
3
Winner Grinnell College GC 26-4
2
St. Norbert College SNC 24-9
Winner
Grinnell College GC
26-4
3
Final
2
St. Norbert College SNC
24-9
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Grinnell College GC 21 25 15 25 15 (3)
St. Norbert College SNC 25 21 25 21 10 (2)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Ted Schultz

Pioneer volleyball team makes history with first-ever MWC Tournament crown, NCAA Tourney berth

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - Dream turned into reality for the Grinnell College volleyball team Saturday afternoon.

The Pioneers punched their ticket to the NCAA Division III National Tournament for the first time in the 46-year history of the program, rallying from a set down to dispose of St. Norbert College in a five-set thriller during the Midwest Conference Tournament championship match at Cornell College's gymnasium. It also marked Grinnell's first-ever MWC Tournament title in volleyball.

Grinnell, which was swept by the Green Knights earlier this season, improved on its school record win total with a 26-4 mark.

The Pioneers, who were performing in front of a crowd heavy on Grinnell supporters, won by scores of 21-25, 25-21, 15-25, 25-21 and 15-10. They will learn their first-round NCAA opponent at 11:30 a.m. Monday. The selection show can be viewed here.

The Pioneers were the fourth seed in the MWC Tournament, but that didn't faze them as they knocked off top seed Cornell on Friday in four sets before downing the second-seeded Green Knights, who finished the season at 24-9.

Grinnell got another stellar effort from Kaylin Kuhn '21, who had a match-high 24 kills to go along with a .317 hitting efficiency, three aces, 12 digs and two blocks. Anna Killin '22 added 11 kills and two blocks, while Rachel Woock '23 had 10 kills and 15 digs.

Julianna Roth '22 dished out 52 assists and Madison Smith '20 became the 14th Pioneer in history to surpass 1,000 career digs with 12 to go along with two aces. Payton Lowrey '22 added 20 digs.

The first set was tight the entire way, with St. Norbert finally winning by four after Grinnell had led 14-13 following a kill by Kuhn. The Pioneers returned the favor in the second set, overcoming a 19-all tie with a five-point run that included an ace by Kuhn and kill from Killin. After St. Norbert scored two points, Woock finished off the set with a kill.

St. Norbert regained command in the third set with the 10-point win, but the Pioneers refused to surrender. They grabbed a 10-7 lead on Smith's serve to open the fourth set, but St. Norbert rallied and forced numerous ties including 17-all.

Grinnell then went on a key run as Emmy Nyquist '23 served two points. St. Norbert kept it close, though, and trailed 20-19 when Woock had a kill and the Green Knights an attack error for a 22-19 Pioneer edge. Grinnell continued to creep toward victory and finished it off with a kill by Killin.

Things didn't look good for the Pioneers in the fifth set, as the Green Knights rolled out to a 4-0 lead. The Pioneers trailed 8-5 on the changeover, but followed with a 3-0 run to tie it as Jensen and Woock had kills and Smith an ace.

There was one more tie, that coming at 9-all, before Grinnell took the lead for good on a Kuhn kill and ball handling error by St. Norbert. After the Green Knights came within 11-10, Jensen had a kill, the Green Knights an attack error and Kuhn a kill to make it 14-10.

A long attack attempt by the Green Knights finished off the win and sent the Pioneers into the history books.

During the match, Kuhn moved into fourth on Grinnell's career chart with 1,418.5 points. Smith now has 1,003 digs, which is tied for 13th-best in program history.

On the season-best chart, Kuhn is second in kills with 475, Lowrey ranks seventh in digs with 444 and Roth is eighth in assists with 1,056. As a team, Grinnell's aces total of 254 is second-best in program history. Also, the Pioneers are sixth in assists (1,239), seventh in kills (1,410), eighth in points (1,7940 and 10th in digs (1,942).





 
Print Friendly Version