GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin volleyball team opened the NCAA Tournament defeating the Cornell College Rams, 3-0. The Knights swept the Rams, 25-18, 25-22 and 25-21. The win improves Calvin to 29-3 on the year and Cornell finishes at 15-15.

"I would first like to tell Jeff Meeker and Cornell that they played a great match," said head coach Amber Warners. "I Thought they were incredible on defense, they didn't back down, they have some great hitters, so we are giving credit for how they played us."

The Knights jumped on the Rams early in the first set, forcing Cornell to call a timeout at the 8-3 mark of the set. The Knights would not look back from there and would go on to take the set, 25-18. Calvin hit .353 in the set, led by junior Laura Danhoff (Willard, Ohio/Willard) with five kills.

In the second set, sophomore Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, Ill./Timothy Christian) snuck the ball over the net for a kill to give Calvin a 4-3 lead. The serve of Lodewyk would extend the Calvin lead to 7-3. Cornell would chip away the Calvin lead to tie the set at 12 and then take a 14-13 lead. The two teams would go on to exchange punches until senior Rachel Lubben (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) gave the Knights a 17-16 lead. Calvin would go on a 3-1 run behind the serve of senior Jamie Kooiman (Eugene, Ore./South Eugene) to give Calvin a 20-17 lead. Senior Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, Ill./Chicago Christian) would finish the set with a kill from Lodewyk at 25-22.

The Rams took an early 9-6 lead in the third set and would extend the lead to 16-9. Calvin would cut the lead to 16-12 behind the serve of Kristen Vyletel (Ann Arbor, Mich./Ann Arbor Huron). The Rams would extend the lead to 19-12 before Calvin would go on a 13-2 run to finish the set. The serve of freshman Keilahna Castillo (Grandville, Mich./Grandville) cut the lead to 19-15. Trailing 21-17, the serve of sophomore Emily Blankespoor (Grand Rapids, Mich./South Christian) helped push the Knights forward and take the next eight points, including an ace to make it 24-21. Maggie Kamp would put the match away with a kill, to take the set, 25-21.

Maggie Kamp led the Knights with 15 kills on Thursday, Laura Danhoff had 10 kills on the evening. Jenna Lodewyk tallied 31 assists in the win. Keilahna Castillo had a team-high 14 digs.

Calvin will host Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the second round of the Division III NCAA Tournament on Friday. The match is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.