PELLA, Iowa - The University of Dubuque women's volleyball team concluded the Central-Grinnell Invitational by cruising to two sweeps on Saturday, defeating the Pioneers of Grinnell College 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-20) and the Prairie Fire of Knox College 3-0 (25-7, 25-15, 25-10).

The Spartans got off to a quick start against the Pioneers, taking the first five points and holding a 10-2 lead after twelve points. The Spartans stifled a short run by Grinnell and held the lead in a 25-14 first set victory. Both teams looked evenly matched early in the second set, but three consecutive kills by Halee Clare gave the Spartans the lead for good in a 25-16 victory. Grinnell clawed within two points several different times in the third set, but a flurry of kills from Ashley Glennon and Payton Uptagraft held the Pioneers at bay for a match-clinching 25-20 victory. Delainey Winkel tallied 11 kills in the match and Caitlin Jensen added seven of her own along with two blocks. Taylor Bechen led the Spartans with 16 digs and Alexis Kammerer achieved another 20-assist game, her third in a row.

The Spartans dominated the Prairie Fire in all aspects of the match this afternoon. The first set was all Spartans, with leads of 10-1, 18-4, and 22-6 at points during the first set. Knox battled back in the second set, leading 11-10 before the Spartans captured 15 of the next 19 points to finish the second set. The Spartans never looked back, leading the entire third set to complete the sweep. Chloe Reiser put together the best performance of her career, tallying 13 kills and a .478 attacking percentage. Winkel had another stellar performance, extending her streak of double-digit kills to four straight games to begin the season. Cailyn Harrington added three service aces on the match, and Bechen once again led the Spartans with 13 digs.

Up Next
After a 4-0 opening weekend, the Spartans will travel to Mount Vernon looking to hand Cornell College their first loss of the season on September 3 at 7:30 p.m. Cornell also achieved an undefeated record at the Central-Grinnell Invitational, defeating Buena Vista University on Friday, in addition to two wins against Macalester College and Carroll University on Saturday.