GRINNELL, Iowa – After losing in straight sets to Loras College Friday afternoon at Darby Gymnasium, the Grinnell College volleyball team was looking for a bounce back.
 
The Pioneers got exactly that as they swept Augustana College 26-24, 25-21 and 25-16 Friday night, snapping an eight-match losing streak to the Vikings dating back to 2004. It was just Grinnell's second win in 14 tries against Augustana in a series that started in 1992.
 
Grinnell (6-4) got geared up for the match even before it began, as the coaching staff and players presented Kaylin Kuhn '22 and Payton Lowrey '22 with plaques for reaching the 1,000-dig milestone in their careers. Kuhn now ranks 11th in Pioneer history with 1,049 and Lowrey is 12th with 1,029.
 
Kuhn also moved up to fourth in Pioneer history with 1,366 kills, passing the great Claire Reeder. Additionally, Kuhn overtook Reeder for career attack attempts with 3,651, making her third all-time.
 
Emily Brewer '24 had 42 assists in the Augustana win, which ranks seventh all-time at Grinnell in a three-setter. The Pioneers' assist total of 44 is 10th all-time in a three-set contest.
 
Kuhn had 15 kills to lead the way, Malaina Miles '24 had nine kills while hitting .438 and Olivia Jensen '22 hit .467. Brewer and Lowrey had three and two aces, respectively, while Jenna Keller '24 led the team in digs with 14 while Brewer had 10. Jensen added three blocks.
 
Grinnell fell in a 9-3 hole to open the match, but gradually came back and took the lead at 14-13 on Miles' kill. Augustana rallied, though, and led 24-22 when Kuhn came up with two kills and Rachel Woock '23 one to put the Pioneers one point from winning the set. Lowrey delivered that point with an ace serve.
 
A 5-1 run midway through the second set turned a one-point lead into a five-point cushion as the Pioneers never looked back. The third set was more of the same, as a five-point service run by Lowrey early on established the tone.
 
Earlier in the day, Loras topped Grinnell 25-13, 25-19 and 26-24. Kuhn had 14 kills and 13 digs, Brewer added 11 assists and Julianna Roth '23 tallied 10.
 
Brewer also had two aces, Lowrey came up with 20 digs and Julianna Vajda '24 and Jensen each added two kills.
 
The Pioneers head to Mount Vernon Saturday to compete in the Cornell College Tournament, where they'll face the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and Gustavus Adolphus College.