NEWPORT NEWS, VA - Calvin's bid for a repeat national championship came to an end Saturday evening as the Knights were defeated by rival Hope 28-26, 25-18, 25-14 in the national semifinals on the campus of Christopher Newport University.

Hope (33-2) advances to the national final on Monday to take on Emory University while Calvin ends its season with a final record of 31-4.

Calvin entered Saturday's match as the nation's leader in hitting percentage at a .299 clip. Behind a strong service game and a powerful block at the net, Hope put the clamps on the Calvin offensive attack as the Knights hit a season-low .113 Saturday night.

The two rivals slugged it out in set one. As it did in all three sets, Hope roared out to a quick lead but Calvin regrouped and took a 24-23 lead with a chance to win the set and steal the early momentum. A Calvin attack error and a subsequent Hope kill gave the Flying Dutch a 25-24 lead. Calvin came back to tie the set at 25 and also at 26 but could not hold off Hope as the Flying Dutch used a block and and a Calvin hitting error to close out the set.

With momentum on its side, Hope never let up from that point on, jumping out to a 14-7 lead in set two and an 11-6 lead in set three, forcing the Knights to play from behind.

Hope finished the match with seven service aces and just two service errors while Calvin had two aces and eight service errors.

Hope's service kept the Knights out of system and helped the Flying Dutch rack up 12 total team blocks including nine block assists from middle-hitter Jillian Sommerville.

"It was once again what I say every time we play Hope," said Calvin head volleyball coach Amber Warners. "It's a serving and a serve-receive game. I think for two matches this year we won that battle and for two matches they won that battle. They were the better team tonight and I congratulate them on the victory. We didn't serve as aggressively and they passed very well and as a result we didn't stay in system as much as we wanted to."

Calvin was led in defeat by junior Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS) and sophomore Laura Danhoff (Willard, OH/Willard HS) who had 11 kills apiece with Kamp also racking up 11 digs. Freshman setter Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, IL/Timothy Christian HS) had 21 assists while freshman Emily Blankespoor (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) also had 11 digs.

Hope was led by Anna Lynch with 15 kills while Jenna Grasmeyer had 14.

The loss concludes the careers of Calvin seniors Emily Crowe (Granger, IN/Mishawaka Penn HS), Stacey Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS), Elise Biesboer (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) and Ellie Diepersloot (Madera, CA/Chowchilla HS).

"This year was a new year and our goal was to be in the hunt to get another one (national championship)," said Warners. "We got pretty close and I feel extremely grateful to be in the position that we were in but you can't win it every year.  I'm very grateful for the season that we have had and one loss will not define our season."