diff --git a/lib/dalli/options.rb b/lib/dalli/options.rb
index a48cd4ba..b30b7630 100644
--- a/lib/dalli/options.rb
+++ b/lib/dalli/options.rb
@@ -31,6 +31,12 @@ def close
       end
     end
 
+    def pipeline_get_setup 
+      @lock.synchronize do
+        super
+      end
+    end
+
     def pipeline_response_setup
       @lock.synchronize do
         super
diff --git a/lib/dalli/pipelined_getter.rb b/lib/dalli/pipelined_getter.rb
index cc34bc5c..26261770 100644
--- a/lib/dalli/pipelined_getter.rb
+++ b/lib/dalli/pipelined_getter.rb
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ def setup_requests(keys)
     ##
     def make_getkq_requests(groups)
       groups.each do |server, keys_for_server|
+        server.pipeline_get_setup
         server.request(:pipelined_get, keys_for_server)
       rescue DalliError, NetworkError => e
         Dalli.logger.debug { e.inspect }
diff --git a/lib/dalli/protocol/base.rb b/lib/dalli/protocol/base.rb
index 89c4fd25..8f8b7d65 100644
--- a/lib/dalli/protocol/base.rb
+++ b/lib/dalli/protocol/base.rb
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ class Base
 
       def_delegators :@value_marshaller, :serializer, :compressor, :compression_min_size, :compress_by_default?
       def_delegators :@connection_manager, :name, :sock, :hostname, :port, :close, :connected?, :socket_timeout,
-                     :socket_type, :up!, :down!, :write, :reconnect_down_server?, :raise_down_error
+                     :socket_type, :up!, :down!, :write, :write_nonblock, :reconnect_down_server?, :raise_down_error
 
       def initialize(attribs, client_options = {})
         hostname, port, socket_type, @weight, user_creds = ServerConfigParser.parse(attribs)
@@ -59,16 +59,19 @@ def lock!; end
 
       def unlock!; end
 
+      # verify and start request before sending GETKQ commands, 
+      # otherwise the socket could get corrupted if we fail to reach pipline_response stage
+      def pipeline_get_setup
+        verify_state(:getkq)
+      end 
+
       # Start reading key/value pairs from this connection. This is usually called
       # after a series of GETKQ commands. A NOOP is sent, and the server begins
       # flushing responses for kv pairs that were found.
       #
       # Returns nothing.
       def pipeline_response_setup
-        verify_state(:getkq)
-        write_noop
         response_buffer.reset
-        @connection_manager.start_request!
       end
 
       # Attempt to receive and parse as many key/value pairs as possible
@@ -204,8 +207,9 @@ def pipelined_get(keys)
         keys.each do |key|
           req << quiet_get_request(key)
         end
-        # Could send noop here instead of in pipeline_response_setup
-        write(req)
+        @connection_manager.start_request!
+        write_nonblock(req)
+        write_noop(nonblock: true)
       end
 
       def response_buffer
diff --git a/lib/dalli/protocol/binary.rb b/lib/dalli/protocol/binary.rb
index 66f71516..4d549d20 100644
--- a/lib/dalli/protocol/binary.rb
+++ b/lib/dalli/protocol/binary.rb
@@ -158,9 +158,13 @@ def version
         response_processor.version
       end
 
-      def write_noop
+      def write_noop(nonblock: false)
         req = RequestFormatter.standard_request(opkey: :noop)
-        write(req)
+        if nonblock
+          write_nonblock(req)
+        else 
+          write(req)
+        end
       end
 
       require_relative 'binary/request_formatter'
diff --git a/lib/dalli/protocol/connection_manager.rb b/lib/dalli/protocol/connection_manager.rb
index 5a0b6ff0..0ec18239 100644
--- a/lib/dalli/protocol/connection_manager.rb
+++ b/lib/dalli/protocol/connection_manager.rb
@@ -171,6 +171,16 @@ def read_nonblock
         @sock.read_available
       end
 
+      # Non-blocking write. Should only be used in the context
+      # of a caller who has called start_request!, but not yet
+      # called finish_request!. Here to support the operation
+      # of the get_multi operation. 
+      def write_nonblock(bytes) 
+        @sock.write(bytes)
+      rescue SystemCallError, Timeout::Error => e
+        error_on_request!(e)
+      end
+
       def max_allowed_failures
         @max_allowed_failures ||= @options[:socket_max_failures] || 2
       end
diff --git a/lib/dalli/protocol/meta.rb b/lib/dalli/protocol/meta.rb
index b2e66c37..8dd293d0 100644
--- a/lib/dalli/protocol/meta.rb
+++ b/lib/dalli/protocol/meta.rb
@@ -162,8 +162,12 @@ def version
         response_processor.version
       end
 
-      def write_noop
-        write(RequestFormatter.meta_noop)
+      def write_noop(nonblock: false)
+        if nonblock
+          write_nonblock(RequestFormatter.meta_noop)
+        else 
+          write(RequestFormatter.meta_noop)
+        end
       end
 
       def authenticate_connection