GRINNELL, Iowa – Anyone attending Friday night's volleyball battle between Grinnell College and the University of Dubuque did not leave disappointed.
 
While the host Pioneers lost in five sets, the contest was a thrill-a-minute with incredible rallies and exciting comebacks. Grinnell faced early defeat, dropping two sets to a team that is leading the rugged American Rivers Conference. Dubuque took the opener 25-18 and cruised to a 25-14 victory in the second set.
 
But the Pioneers fought back, taking the next two sets by scores of 25-20 and 25-23 as the crowd grew more and more enthusiastic. But the Spartans eked out an 18-16, back-and-forth victory in the deciding set to escape with the win.
 
The Pioneers had three players in double-digit kills, led by Jenna Keller '24 and Hayley Taka '26 with 14 apiece and Millie Leonard '27 with 12. Emily Brewer '24 distributed 38 assists and Sophie Weber '25 had four of the team's nine aces.
 
In the digs department, Weber had 25, Keller added a career-high 19 and Brewer also had 19 while Taka contributed 11. Kylie Snell '27 had two blocks.
 
After falling short in the first two sets, Grinnell showed it meant business in the third set as Brewer served the hosts out to a 4-0 lead with the aid of an ace and kills by Keller, Taka and Snell. Grinnell kept it up, pushing its margin to 19-12.  Dubuque (18-7) got as close as 24-20 before Brewer finished off the Spartans with a kill.
 
A four-point run in the fourth set helped Grinnell (11-14) go ahead 12-6. That spurt included two tricky ace serves from Weber as well as kill by Keller. But the Spartans came back, grabbing leads of 22-20 and 23-21 before Grinnell went to work on the shoulders of Brewer. She posted a kill and served an ace to tie things up, and then served the final two points with kills by Keller and Taka finishing each point.
 
Dubuque led most of the fifth set until a two-point run helped push the Pioneers ahead 12-11. After Dubuque tied it, Leonard got a kill to put the hosts ahead 13-12. After a Dubuque point, Malaina Miles '24 knocked down a kill to put Grinnell at match point.
 
After the Spartans scored two points, Grinnell twice staved off defeat as kills by Keller tied things at 15-all and 16-all. However, Dubuque scored twice to secure the win.
 
Grinnell finishes the regular season with four Midwest Conference matches, beginning with dates at Ripon College next Friday and Lake Forest College the following day.