KENOSHA, Wisc. - For the third consecutive year and for the fourth time in the last five years, the Calvin women's volleyball team has claimed an NCAA III Regional title. The Knights defeated host and top-seeded Carthage 26-24, 21-25, 25-20, 25-13 Saturday night at the Tarble Center.

With the win, Calvin (30-3) advances to the national quarterfinals in Newport News, Virgina. The Knights will play on the campus of Christopher Newport University and will face either host Christopher Newport on November 21 at 8 p.m. (EST).

Calvin captured a tense set one 26-24 after trailing 20-18. Calvin closed out the set on a clutch service ace by freshman Emily Blankespoor (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS).

Carthage (36-4) turned the tables in set two. Trailing 20-18, the Lady Reds ripped off a 7-1 run to close out the set.

Needing to retake the momentum, Calvin did just that, using a lengthy service run by junior Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS) that began with the set tied at 12 and ended with Calvin leading 20-13. Carthage closed to within 24-20 but Maggie Kamp sealed the win with one of her 14 kills.

In set four, Calvin took an 11-8 lead and then put its foot down with an 9-2 run to pull away with the momentum and the victory.

"Calvin won the serve-pass battle tonight," said Carthage head coach Leanne Ulmer.  "Their setter, Jenna Lodewyk, was throwing bullets at us.  You give a team like Calvin seven or eight points in a row, it's tough to come back."

According to Calvin head coach Amber Warners, the match could have gone either way. "Carthage is a very good team and I thought this match could have gone either way," said Warners. "We held tough when things got down and didn't let them snowball. I think our serving was very important. We stayed aggressive even when we had a few service errors. At this stage of the tournament, you have to keep serving that way if you want to win."

Calvin finished with nine service errors but also recorded 11 service aces led by Maggie Kamp with three while freshman Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, IL/Timothy Christian HS), Blankespoor, sophomore Laura Danhoff (Willard, OH/Willard HS) and senior Elise Biesboer (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) all had two service aces apiece.

Maggie Kamp had one of her finest all-around efforts of the year as she also tallied a team-high 19 digs. For her efforts, she was named the regional tournament's Most Outstanding Player. She was joined on the all-tournament team from Calvin by Lodewyk and senior Ellie Diepersloot (Madera, CA/Chowchilla HS).

Diepersloot had 13 kills in the win over Carthage while Danhoff had 10 kills and five block assists. Lodewyk had 41 assists, Biesboer had 15 digs and Blankespoor 11 digs. Maggie Kamp and sister Stacey Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS) also had three block assists apiece.

At 30-3, Calvin has now hit the 30-win plateau for the 14th time in school history.