Contact: Lou Groce, Director of Media and Information, 920-229-8157

GRINNELL, Iowa – For the fifth consecutive season the Cornell College volleyball team won the Midwest Conference (MWC) regular season title and will serve as the host of the 2016 MWC Tournament. 

The Rams (21-6, 9-0) cruised through the conference schedule unbeaten and dropped just one set to Illinois College.  Cornell hasn’t lost multiple sets since it was defeated, 3-2, by the University of Chicago back on September 24 and enters the tournament with a 14-match winning streak.  Cornell leads the league in hitting percentage (.257), assists (13.11/set), kills (13.84/set) and service aces (2.02/set). 

Cornell is led by Diamond Boyd, who received MWC Offensive Performer of the Week honors three times this fall.  In conference action, Boyd leads the MWC in kills per set (4.46) and ranks second behind Anika Johnson of second-seeded St. Norbert College in hitting percentage (.394).  Behind Boyd, hitters Libby Schnoor and Lauren Ahart are two very efficient players at the net.   

Passing her the ball, is Katherine Devlin, who is averaging a MWC-leading 11.18 assists per set.  Devlin is also the best server in the league and averages .57 aces per set, just barely ahead of teammates Theresa Scheet (.54) and Nicole Ciari (.50). 

Their opponent, Lawrence University (11-15, 5-4), is making its first trip to the four-team postseason tournament since it went to its current format in 2008.  The Vikings started off 5-2 in the league, but dropped its final two matches of the slate to No. 3 Grinnell College and top-seeded Cornell. 

Lawrence is led by Cyra Bammer and Arianna Neumeyer.  Neumeyer was exceptional in conference action, finishing with 118 kills for an average of 3.93 per set.  She was named the MWC Offensive Performer of the Week on October 18 and is also one of the best servers in the league as she averaged .50 aces per set in league play.  As a team, the Vikings are second behind Cornell in kills per set (12.67) and service aces per set (2.27).

Defensively, Bammer leads the conference in digs per set with 7.07 and was twice named the MWC Defensive Performer of the Week.  Lawrence is second in the league at 19.53 digs per set due in large part to Bammer’s efforts. 

The tournament will open at 4:30 p.m. on Friday evening with St. Norbert (14-14, 8-1) squaring off against Grinnell (14-10, 6-3).  Earlier this season, the Green Knights defeated the Pioneers 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 25-18) in Grinnell. 

St. Norbert is hoping to advance to a fourth straight MWC Championship match with a victory over the surprising Pioneers.  In the preseason coaches’ poll, Grinnell was picked to finish ninth.  The Green Knights' only loss in league action came to league champion Cornell.  Offensively, they are led by Anika Johnson, who is one of the top hitters in the conference.  She had 98 kills in the conference season and hit a league-high .394.  Johnson also leads the league in blocks per set (.86) and forms one of the best tandems in the league with Lexie Van Hiel. 

Aubree Antosch leads the back line for St. Norbert and was named the MWC Defensive Performer of the Week on October 25.  Antosch is fifth in the conference in digs per set at .477.

The Pioneers have had a magical run to the postseason and are making their first appearance in the tournament since 2011.  Emma Willhardt and Olivia Fromm pace Grinnell offensively. Willhardt is seventh in the league hitting percentage (.273), while Fromm averages three kills per set.  Passing them the ball is reigning MWC Offensive Performer of the Week Margaret Giles who averages 8.42 assists per set.  Willhardt is no slouch defensively as she averages .84 blocks per set. 

Action at Cornell’s Small Multi-Sport Center gets underway Friday with Grinnell playing St. Norbert at 4:30 p.m., followed by Cornell and Lawrence at 7:00 p.m. The winners will play at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday for a spot in the 2016 NCAA Tournament.