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

GRINNELL, Iowa - For the sixth consecutive season, Cornell College will serve as the host of the 2017 Midwest Conference (MWC) Volleyball Tournament.

The Rams won their sixth straight regular season championship under head coach Jeff Meeker and will be the top seed in this weekend's four-team tournament. The winner will earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Rivals Ripon College and St. Norbert College will open the tournament on Friday at 4:30 p.m. In the regular season, the Green Knights earned a 3-0 home victory (25-17, 25-17, 25-16) over the Red Hawks. Lexie Van Hiel dominated the match with a high of 12 kills on an attack percentage of .588. The sophomore added two solo blocks and two block assists. Emily Rohloff also had a nice night with 18 assists and three service aces. Emily Allard had a solid all-around game to lead Ripon. She posted eight kills on a .312 hitting percentage with nine assists and six digs.

Over the course of the season, Van Hiel and Halie Ferry have been two of the better offensive players in the MWC. Van Hiel ranks second in the league in hitting percentage (.306) and third in blocks (0.81/set), while Ferry averages 3.49 kills/set, which is good for second in the conference and tops in the tournament field.

The Red Hawks' Jonallee Elliott is ranked 10^th in the league in kills/set (2.57) and setter Olivia Heck is eighth in the league at five assists per set. Kaylie Marks is also a solid blocker with an average of 0.74 per set.

If the Green Knights win, it will be their 10^th consecutive appearance in the MWC Tournament title match. Last season, St. Norbert upset Cornell in the finale to earn its first berth in the NCAA Tournament since 2011.

For the second straight season, Grinnell College has earned a tournament berth and will take on Cornell in the second semifinal at 7:00 p.m. Friday evening. The Pioneers went 5-4 during the conference season and boast a 16-8 overall record, while the Rams went undefeated through the conference slate and dropped just three sets in the nine matches.

In the regular season match between the two clubs, Cornell scored a 3-0 shutout of the Pioneers (25-18, 25-22, 25-16). Libby Schnoor and Nicole Ciari combined for 25 kills, nearly half of the team's total (51), while Jillian Schulte passed out 29 assists and registered 16 digs. Sydney Meeker produced a match-high 20 digs from the back line. Kaylin Kuhn led the way for the Pioneers as she posted a double-double with 14 kills and 16 digs.

Schulte tops the conference and ranks eighth in the country in assists/set (10.40), while Schnoor ranks third in the league in kills/set (3.44). Ciari also ranks fourth in the league in blocks/set (0.78).

The Pioneers' Olivia Jensen has been one of the top players in the league this fall. She leads the conference in hitting percentage (.325) and service aces (0.54 per set), while also checking in ninth in kills/set (2.71). Kuhn leads the team with an average of 3.27 kills/set.

The Rams will be seeking their sixth consecutive berth in the MWC Tournament title match and fifth MWC Tournament title in the last six seasons.