By Mark DeHaan

The Knights rounded out the first half of their conference schedule by hosting the Comets of Olivet on Tuesday evening. Calvin entered with a 6-1 MIAA record while the Comets came in at 1-6.

Despite the difference in standings between the two teams, Calvin came out with a lot of fire and hit a sizzling .481 en route to three-set sweep 25-12, 25-8, 25-14.

The first set saw Olivet hang with the Knights early. Leading 7-5, Calvin went on a 10-3 run to build a commanding 18-8 advantage. Three kills from junior Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS) and two kills from sophomore Laura Danhoff (Willard, OH/Willard HS) then allowed the Knights to close out the set 25-12.

In the second set, Calvin jumped out to a 6-1 lead behind strong defensive play, forcing the Comets into three attack errors. Freshman setter Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, IL/Timothy Christian HS) did a good job distributing the ball for the Knights as five Calvin hitters tallied kills in the second set, and again, Calvin saw its advantage grow to 18-8. Kills from Danhoff, Kamp, and freshman Haley Muller (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) then saw the Knights claim the second set 25-8.

The third and final set saw the Knights get experience for a number of their younger players.

Midway through, the Comets found themselves within striking distance, trailing 13-10. But, Calvin won 12 of the next 16 points, and the Knights won the final set 25-14.

Calvin hit .481 for the three sets while holding the Comets to a .074 clip. The Knights also totaled seven service aces for the match.

Individually, Kamp led Calvin with 18 kills at a .621 percentage while Danhoff tallied nine kills.

Lodewyk dished out 34 assists for the match while senior Elise Biesboer (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) led the Knights with 11 digs.

"We have been really focusing on our mentality, playing for the team and coming in a playing with a ton of passion, and even in the last set, we did that really well" said head coach Amber Warners. "The main focus (in the second half of the season) is to get to the high level of Calvin volleyball, and we've been playing better and better. In the second half, we're going to shoot to get on fire."

The Knights improve to 7-1 in conference and 15-3 overall with the victory while Olivet falls to 1-7 in league play and 5-12 overall.

Calvin now looks forward to Thursday when it travels to Albion to face the Britons at Kresge Gymnasium, with first serve scheduled for 6:30 p.m.