GRINNELL, Iowa – In 2019, Grinnell College's volleyball team enjoyed the sweet taste of the NCAA Division III National Tournament.
The Pioneers are in line to get a second helping this weekend at the four-team Midwest Conference Tournament in Mount Vernon. Grinnell enters the tourney as the second seed, boasting a record of 7-1 in league play and 19-13 in all matches. Its opponent in Friday's 4:30 p.m. semifinal, third-seeded Illinois College, is 6-2 in the MWC and 11-14 overall.
Friday's winner takes on either Cornell College or Monmouth College in the title match. That winner earned the league's automatic berth to the national tourney.
Grinnell boasts the lead in several MWC statistical categories, but also is making a statement nationally.
Kaylin Kuhn '22 is ninth nationally in both kills and kills per set with 442 and 4.31, respectively. She is 10
th in points per set with 4.99 and leads the MWC in all three categories.
Kuhn also leads the league in aces with 52 and
Olivia Jensen '22 is tops in hitting percentage at .378. Kuhn ranks third in aces per set (0.51), the same ranking as
Payton Lowrey '23 in aces (47) and
Emily Brewer '24 in assists (704).
As a team, Grinnell is the MWC leader in several categories including:
*Aces per set, 2.02
*Assists per set, 11.25
*Hitting percentage, .202
*Kills per set, 12.54
*Assists, 1327 (7th nationally)
*Digs, 2038 (7th nationally)
*Kills, 1480 (4th nationally)
*Aces, 238
Individually, Kuhn is inching closer to the career school mark for kills and aces where she has 1,679 and 195. She is just three behind the all-time leaders in those categories.
