GRINNELL – Cornell's volleyball program put a wrap on its fifth consecutive undefeated Midwest Conference regular season with Wednesday's 25-17, 25-19, 25-17 sweep over in-state rival Grinnell at Darby Gym.
 
The Rams (16-10 overall) finished 8-0 in MWC play while dropping only two sets along the way. The league champion for the 13th year in a row, Cornell will host the MWC Tournament Nov. 14-15 in the Small Athletic and Wellness Center.
 
The four-team tournament field will be set after league play concludes Saturday. Lawrence, Monmouth and Illinois College are tied for second place at 5-2. Grinnell is still in the mix at 5-3.
 
The Rams have now won 40 straight MWC matches in the regular season. Their last loss was at Grinnell in the 2019 finale.  
 
Cornell put a dent in Grinnell's postseason hopes in a match the Rams controlled throughout. The Rams served 10 aces, while yielding just two. Cornell converted 10 team blocks and limited the Pioneers to .105 hitting.
 
Junior Nia Howard reached a milestone with her 70th ace of the season, becoming the third Ram in school history to hit that benchmark. She also had 12 assists, sharing team-high honors with Grace Tverberg.
 
First-year Ashlin Nottestad smacked a match-best 11 kills. Ally Olmstead posted six kills and six assisted blocks. Selia Stein and Tverberg added four blocks apiece.
 
Hannah Cantwell and Olmstead paced Cornell's strong service night with three aces apiece.
 
Coming up – Cornell plays host to Wartburg (15-10) in Saturday's regular-season finale at 1 p.m. on Senior Day.