By Mark DeHaan

The Calvin volleyball team returned to the top of the national polls on Monday after a four-set win over previous No. 1 Hope last week. In their first game back atop the rankings, the Knights hosted the Scots of Alma College at VanNoord Arena on Tuesday night.

Tuesday night also saw Calvin honor its four seniors: Elise Biesboer (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS), Emily Crowe (Granger, IN/Mishawawka Penn HS), Ellie Diepersloot (Madera, CA/Chowchilla HS), and Stacey Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS).

The Knights dominated the first set, but a strong second set from Alma required a comeback from the Maroon-and-Gold. Calvin then closed out the match in the third set, earning a 25-9, 25-17, 25-17 sweep.

The Knights jumped out to an early 7-2 lead behind a pair of kills from junior Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS). The Scots got a pair of points back to narrow the margin to 7-4, but Calvin's lead only grew from there. The Knights hit .591 in the opening set while holding Alma to -.077. Crowe tallied five kills to lead Calvin to a 25-9 set one win.

In the second set, the Scots came to life to take a 14-9 lead midway through the set, forcing a Knights timeout. Calvin responded with a 12-2 run behind strong serving from Biesboer and freshman Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, IL/Timothy Christian HS) to claim a 21-16 advantage. The Knights closed out the set 25-17.

In set three, Calvin got out to a much stronger start than in set two. Freshman Emily Blankespoor (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) began the set with a five point service run to give the Knights an early lead. Calvin held that lead for the remainder of the set, and the closest Alma would get would be 11-5. Calvin completed the sweep with a 25-17 third-set victory.

Calvin hit an impressive .506 in the 25-9, 25-17, 25-17 win, while Alma was held to .100. The Knights forced the Scots in 16 hitting errors in the match.

Individually, Kamp led Calvin with 17 kills while Diepersloot and Crowe each contributed eight. Blankespoor paced the Knights with nine digs, while Lodewyk tallied 35 assists.

"We're at a critical time in the season, and if we shore up some things we haven't done well, we can take our game to another level," said head coach Amber Warners. "I feel like we're starting to know what makes us tick, what people need, and we're okay that it's different than last year. We've talked about our mentality all year long, about being aggressive, and I think they're embracing it."

Calvin improves to 24-3 overall and 14-1 in the MIAA, while Alma falls to 15-16 overall and 8-7 in league play.

The Knights now close out the conference season on Friday, when they travel to Olivet. First serve versus the Comets is set for 6:30 p.m.