GRAND RAPIDS - The Calvin volleyball team swept the first day of its Midwest Invitational tournament on Friday. The Knights defeated North Central (Ill.) 3-0 by the scores of 25-22, 25-13 and 26-24 in the afternoon, and then topped Millikin 3-1 by the scores of 25-12, 25-16, 17-25, 25-16 in the night cap, during which it honored the 2010 NCAA Division III volleyball national championship team.

The Knights opened the day with a three-set win over the Cardinals of North Central. Calvin took the opening set 25-22, and then blistered the Cardinals in the second set with a .333 attack percentage while NCC hit -.143 with 10 errors.

The Cardinals jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the third game as they looked to extend the match, but the Knights walked them down with the help of eight kills from Heidi Westra (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Timothy Christian) to take the set 26-24 and the match.

Westra was dominant throughout the match for the Knights, finishing with 19 kills and hitting .381 on 42 attack attempts. She also led the team with 16 digs. Vanessa Martinez (Hudsonville, Mich./Wyoming) led Calvin with four blocks, while Alyssa DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) recorded 33 assists and 11 digs.

Calvin would once again start strong in the second match against Millikin, dominating the first two sets 25-12 and 25-16 to take a 2-0 lead.

The Big Blue would respond, however, hitting .412 and playing inspired in the back row to take the third set 25-17.

The Knights settled back in for the fourth set, hitting .295 en route the 25-16 win and the match.

Westra once again led the attack with 17 kills and three service aces, while DeVries finished with 43 assists and a team-best 19 digs. Gabriella Kellogg (Belleville, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) also had a big match on the attack with 13 kills against only one error.

Calvin improved to 18-3 on the season with the two wins. NCC fell to 12-5 with its loss, while Millikin dropped to 17-7.

COACH'S COMMENT: "It was good to get wins against two tough teams from the CCIW," Calvin volleyball head coach Dr. Amber Warners said. "We know that their (CCIW) league is very deep and when you play teams like North Central and Millikin, you need to bring your A game to get a winning result. Getting wins in this tournament is important from a regional ranking perspective as well. Every team in this tournament is talented so we are happy to start 2-0 but we will be challenged tomorrow.

"It was also wonderful to have so many members of our 2010 (national championship) team back and relive so many great memories with them. That group was and remains very close. There was a lot of talent on that team but more importantly great care for each member of that team and that connection remains to this day."

NEXT UP: Calvin volleyball returns to action tomorrow (Saturday, October 15) for a match against North Park scheduled to start at 3 PM.