The Grinnell Volleyball team got a an extra special treat this Halloween. On Saturday, the Pioneers learned that they made the Midwest Conference Tournament. Following their defeat of Knox College in their home finale on Oct. 28, the Pioneers had to wait to find out winner of Lake Forest College vs. Lawrence University and Ripon College vs. Carroll College. Lawrence or Carroll had to win in order for the Pioneers to move on.

News of a Lake Forest victory hit the team first on Saturday and the tournament hopes for the Pioneers seemed false, as Ripon had already clinched a tournament position.  But they continued to wait for the news, and eventually, the Pioneers patience was rewarded.

“An hour later, we were all sitting around the table in Portillos when we got the phone call that Ripon had lost and we were going to the tournament,” Mo Gallo-Chasanoff ’10 said. “Everyone screamed, chairs went flying, people were laughing and crying. It was one of the best moments of my life.”

Due to the nature of the Ripon loss, Grinnell was catapulted from on the bubble of a tournament berth to the third seed in the tournament.  St. Norbert clinched first place with a conference record of 8-0. Beloit and Ripon round out the tournament as the second and fourth seeds respectively.

In the first round, Grinnell will face Beloit, who they lost to 1-3 at Beloit on Oct. 14. The Pioneers will lean on their stars and starters to make it through the tournament. 

“Claire Reeder [’11], Olivia Wilks [’12], Carlie Beach [’10], Bonnie Kircher [’12], Liz Davis [’11], Michelle Briggs [’13] and Erin Labasan [’11] will take us to that [Beloit] match and hopefully on to win conference,” Caitlin Helterline ’10 said in an e-mail.

Additional Reporting by Naina Chhiber