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Gabby Choy
Julia Marlin
0
Knox KC 3-24,1-5 Midwest
3
Winner Grinnell GC 12-12,5-1 Midwest
Knox KC
3-24,1-5 Midwest
0
Final
3
Grinnell GC
12-12,5-1 Midwest
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Knox KC 12 18 13 (0)
Grinnell GC 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | Ted Schultz

Pioneer volleyball team enjoys scary-good performance at the net in sweep of Knox

GC posts 2nd-best hitting percentage in program history

GRINNELL, Iowa - Being Halloween night, it was only fitting that Grinnell College's volleyball team put a fright into Knox College with its performance at the net.

Grinnell posted its second-highest hitting percentage in program history Friday night at Darby Gymnasium in a three-set sweep of the Prairie Fire in Midwest Conference action. Set scores, in favor of the hosts, were 25-12, 25-18 and 25-13.

Playing in front of a crowd decked out in a variety of Halloween costumes, the Pioneers posted a hitting efficiency of .463 with 43 kills on 82 attempts with just five errors. The only hitting efficiency in GC history higher than that was .508 against Centenary in 2015.

Grinnell, which stretched its winning streak over the Prairie Fire to 10 dating back to 2016, inched closer to qualifying for the Midwest Conference Tournament by improving to 5-1 in the league and 12-12 in all matches. Knox fell to 1-5 in the MWC and 3-24 overall.

Kylie Snell '26, one of four fourth-years honored prior to the match as part of Senior Night, recorded an eye-popping .692 efficiency. She had nine kills on 13 swings with no errors for an efficiency that ranks 10th in program history.

Kylie-Ann Smith '27 served a career-high seven aces, which ranks ninth in program history and seventh in three-set matches.

Snell's attack percentage was a career-high, as was that of Nicole Mlynski '26 who hit .533 with eight kills on 15 attempts. Other top-flight hitting percentages were accumulated by Millie Leonard '27 (.538) and Leticia Machado '29 (.462).

Hayley Taka '26 led Grinnell in kills with 10, while Smith and Marlowe Hurst '28 were in double digits for assists with 17 and 14, respectively. Gabby Choy '26 was the team leader in digs with 11.

The Pioneers led just 13-11 in the opening set, but opened things up by scoring 10 unanswered points. Smith had six of her aces in that span and Taka scored another point with a kill. Kills by Taka and Leonard a bit later finished off the victory.

A 6-1 run late in the second set turned an 18-16 Pioneer lead into a 24-17 lead. Snell sparked the rally with two kills and Leonard added an ace. After a Grinnell service error, Snell pounded down a kill to end the set.

A 10-2 spurt early in the third set helped Grinnell extend its lead to 16-6. Mlynski and Snell led the charge with two kills each, while Leonard and Choy added aces. Grinnell kept up the pace and finished off the victory with a kill by Mlynski. 

The Pioneers are on the home court again Saturday when Monmouth College visits for a 1 p.m. date.
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