GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Tuesday night saw the top two teams in Division III square-off in Van Noord Arena. Calvin entered the night with the No. 1 ranking and a 12-0 record, while the Flying Dutch of Hope were just recently ranked No. 2 as it also held a 12-0 record.
The Knights, defending their top ranking, defeated Hope in consecutive sets by scores of 25-17, 25-21, 28-26. Calvin has now won eight consecutive matches against Hope dating back to 2010.
Feeding off a boisterous Calvin crowd, the Knights took set one 25-17, with sophomore Maggie Kamp tallying five kills and senior Kristin Zietse adding 10 digs. The Knights held momentum from the beginning, leading 10-6 early on and utilizing eight attack errors by the Flying Dutch to take the first set.
In set two, Hope jumped out to a 7-3 lead. After a Calvin timeout, the Knights rallied to tie the game at 12-12, aided by a pair of Hope errors. Four consecutive points by Calvin allowed them to take a 16-12 lead, which it would not relinquish. The Knights took set two 25-21.
Set three was tied early 8-8. Six consecutive points by Calvin gave the Knights a 14-6 lead and a lot of momentum. Calvin held the eight point margin until 19-11 when Hope called a timeout. The Flying Dutch responded with four consecutive points, bringing the score to 19-15 and forcing Calvin into a timeout. Hope continued its run after the Knights timeout, tying Calvin at 24-24.
Errors on both sides saw the momentum swing back-and-forth before Calvin won two consecutive points, a kill by freshman Laura Danhoff and a kill by Rietema to take the third and final set, 28-26.
Maggie Kamp paced the Knights with 16 kills while Danhoff added eight and junior Ellie Diepersloot seven. Rietema tallied 31 assists and 12 digs while Zietse finished with 21 digs.
