 |  |
Grinnell stops Knox to move to 2-0 in MWC play
Grinnell College’s volleyball team is now a perfect 2-for-2 in Midwest Conference play this season after disposing of Knox College in four sets Thursday night at Darby Gymnasium.
Grinnell, which won by scores of 25-12, 22-25, 25-12 and 25-11, improved to 4-10 overall while Knox fell to 0-12 overall and 0-2 in the MWC.
Gillian Dryjanski ’12 (pictured) had a stellar night at the net for the Pioneers, scorching the Prairie Fire with a .438 hitting efficiency with nine kills. Michelle Briggs ’13 also had nine kills and hit .381, while Rebecca DeGroot ’14 tallied eight kills and Bonnie Kircher ’12 had seven kills.
DeGroot also had five blocks, while Olivia Wilks ’12 had 24 assists and two ace serves.
Kircher added four aces, Lindsay Fujimoto ’15 had two aces and 13 digs and Kate Duran ’12 contributed 10 digs.
Grinnell also held Knox to a negative hitting efficiency most of the night before the Prairie Fire rebounded to finish at an even .000 in that department.
Grinnell trailed just once in the first set, that at 1-0, before grabbing the lead. The Pioneers were ahead 11-7 when they went on a key 11-3 run to pull away. Kircher served six points during the run and Fujimoto had three as Grinnell went up 22-10 en route to the easy victory.
Grinnell actually led a good portion of the second set, too, before the visitors rallied for the three-point win. In the third set, the Pioneers were ahead 14-10 before closing things out with an 11-2 run. Briggs had six service points during the run and Dryjanski tallied four kills.
It was more of the same in the fourth set, as Grinnell used a big run to turn a 6-4 lead into a 20-9 cushion. Kircher had a five-point service run during that span and Wilks served three points. Ahead 22-11 a bit later, Fujimoto served out the set for Grinnell.
The Pioneers step out of MWC play Saturday when William Penn visits Darby Gymnasium. Match time is 11 a.m.
