GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Round one of the Calvin-Hope volleyball rivalry went to the visiting Flying Dutch in a five-set thriller Saturday afternoon at Van Noord Arena.

After a pair of 2021 spring season matches played in front of sparse crowds at the venue that saw the two rivals split, Saturday's match brought out more then 2,000 Calvin Homecoming Weekend fans to see the two nationally-ranked rivals clash.

The match lived up to its billing with sixth-ranked Hope pulling away for a 25-21, 26-28, 19-25, 25-23, 15-12 victory over fourth-ranked Calvin.

Hope (14-1) stretched its win streak to 10 while Calvin (17-2) saw its 14-match win streak come to an end.

Saturday's match was a non-conference meeting. The two sides will meet again on October 30 at Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse in an MIAA contest that will conclude the MIAA's single-round robin schedule.

In Saturday's match, Hope stormed out of the gates offensively, hitting .467 in set one. Calvin kept pace with the Flying Dutch until late in the match. With the match tied 19-19, Calvin junior attacker Heidi Westra (Clarendon Hills, Il./Timothy Christian HS) slammed an attack into the Hope back row. The attack was dug up in diving fashion by Hope's Anna Grunewald with the ball careening past the front row off the top of the net and to the Calvin side of the floor for a pivotal point. The improbable dig and kill was part of a late 6-0 Hope run that allowed the Flying Dutch to take set one.

In set two, Hope appeared poised to take a 2-0 lead in the match, leading 23-19. Heidi Westra came up with back-to-back kills to give Calvin new life and after Hope went up 24-21, Calvin rattled off four straight points keyed by back-to-back service aces by junior Theresa Kehn (Brighton, Mich./Charyl Stockwell Preparatory School) to move to set point in favor of the Knights.

Hope fought off a pair of Calvin set points before the Knights completed the comeback set two win as the Flying Dutch committed a service error and an attack error to even up the match.

In set three, Calvin benefitted from 11 Hope attack errors with Calvin's blocking efforts ramping up down the stretch. Freshman Vanessa Martinez (Hudsonville, Mich./Wyoming HS) was part of Calvin's blocking efforts up front while contributing a pair of late kills that allowed Calvin to close out the set on a 7-1 run. Senior Kelsey Smith (Vienna, Va./Madison HS) completed the set three win with a service ace.

Calvin fell behind 19-14 in set four and later trailed 20-16. Calvin rallied to tie the set at 21, 22 and 23 but Hope put the set away with a pivotal kill and a subsequent block on a Calvin attack.

In set five, Hope built leads of 12-7 and 13-8. After falling behind 14-10, Calvin answered with two straight points but a kill by Hope's Anna Grunewald down the sideline closed out the match for the Flying Dutch.

The match provided several big stat performances for both teams. Heidi Westra came up with 17 kills, 17 digs and six block assists for Calvin. Sophomore Gabriella Kellogg (Belleville, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) amassed 14 kills while senior Madelyn Hall (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville HS) had 10 kills and seven block assists. Senior Anna Schriemer (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg HS) had 48 assists and 11 digs. Senior Grace Kellogg (Belleville, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) contributed 11 digs and a pair of service aces. Kehn had 12 digs and three aces while junior Aubrey Wrubel (Jenison, Mich./Jenison HS) amassed 18 digs and five assists.

McKenna Otto led the Hope attack with 16 kills while senior setter Tracy Westra had 47 assists. Hope libero Maggie Wehrmeyer amassed 44 digs

The two teams combined for 172 digs with Hope collecting 91 digs as a team with Calvin recording 81.

COACHES COMMENT: "Congratulations to Hope. I think they just had a little bit more in the tank at the end," said Calvin head women's volleyball coach Amber Warners. "I thought it was a match that went back and forth. I think we can shore up some things to keep our team improving."

When asked about the large homecoming crowd Warners responded by saying: "I really appreciate Calvin's crowd support. Knowing the (Calvin) athletes in the stands and the way they support other athletes on campus makes Calvin a special place. I also want to thank the many alumni that came out to support our team today on Calvin Homecoming Weekend. It means a lot to our players and our program."

NEXT UP: Calvin will host Saint Mary's next Tuesday in a conference match at 7 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.