RIPON, Wis. – One night after losing a hard-fought battle at Lawrence University, Grinnell College's volleyball team bounced back with flying colors Saturday in a four-set win at Ripon College.
The Pioneers pounded down a season-high 60 kills and hit .315, their second-highest efficiency of the season.
Grinnell, which stretched its winning streak against the Red Hawks to eight, won by scores of 25-21, 25-17, 23-25 and 25-20 to improve to 5-9 overall and 1-1 in the Midwest Conference. Ripon is 5-13 overall and 0-2 in the league.
Millie Leonard '27 was electric for Grinnell, pounding down 23 kills and hitting .512.
Leticia Machado '29 wasn't far behind with 16 kills and a .343 efficiency.
Charlotte Sigler '30 added a .455 efficiency.
Grinnell had 13 aces, with
Keira Sullivan '27 rolling up six, and
Kylie-Ann Smith '27 dished out 46 assists. In the digs department, Sullivan had 17,
Gracie Lim '28 tallied 16 and Smith garnered 12.
The first set was close, with Grinnell leading by just one before Leonard posted a kill and Ripon had an attack error to make it 22-19. After the Red Hawks scored, Grinnell scored three of the final four points with Leonard finishing things off with a kill.
A six-point run early in the second set turned a tied affair into a 12-6 Grinnell lead. Machado had two kills in that spurt, while Sullivan added one plus an ace serve as the Pioneers won with ease.
After losing the third set, Grinnell trailed the fourth 18-17 before a huge four-point run that included two aces and a kill by Sullivan for a 21-18 lead. After the visitors came within 22-20, Grinnell reeled off three straight points with kills by Machado and Leonard and attack error by Ripon to finish off the victory.
The Pioneers are home next weekend, hosting Knox College on Friday and Illinois College on Saturday.
