GRAND RAPIDS - The Calvin volleyball saw its season come to an end with a five-set loss to Hope College in the NCAA Tournament Regional Final by the scores of 25-22, 16-25, 25-17, 23-25 and 15-12 on Saturday at Van Noord Arena.

The Knights defeated the Flying Dutch twice during the regular season, but Hope came out strong from the start to show it was a different version of the team the Knights had seen.

The Flying Dutch built a 17-11 lead midway through the first set, and then held off a late Calvin rally to take a 1-0 overall lead. 

Calvin answered in the second set, breaking open a tight game early by winning 15 of the final 21 points to tie the match 1-1. After hitting .314 in the opening set, Hope's attack efficiency dropped to .054 in the second, while Heidi Westra (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Timothy Christian) recorded seven of the Knights 11 kills in the set.

Hope came right back to start the third set, putting the Knights on their heels with a 12-2 run to open the set on the way to take a 2-1 overall lead.

Fighting for their season, the Knights scratched and clawed their way to winning a back-and-forth fourth set to force a fifth and deciding game. Westra once again came up big with six kills and six digs in the set to help tie the match 2-2.

Hope once again came out strong to open the fifth set with a 9-3 lead, but the Knights fought all the way back to tie the set 10-10. Calvin could net get all the way over the hump at the end, however, as the Flying Dutch scored three straight points to build a cushion, and then won the match on a kill by Emma Post.

Westra was spectacular on the attack throughout the match and finished with a season-high 29 kills while hitting .387. She also added 13 digs and three blocks.

Maria Bos (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian), Tori Roskamp (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) and Gabriella Kellogg (Belleville, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) each finished with eight kills, while Alyssa DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) added 51 assists and 12 digs. Aubrey Wrubel (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) led the Knights with 20 digs.

Following the match, Westra and Wrubel were each named to the NCAA  All-Region Team.

Calvin finished the season 27-4 following the defeat. Hope improved to 24-7 with the win.

COACH'S COMMENT: "They've given a lot to this program," Calvin head coach Dr. Amber Warners said about her five seniors. "They have impacted a lot of people, and for that I'm really grateful. I think they can walk away and say they have given everything they had, which is one of the things we strive to do. I'm going to miss them on the court, but I won't miss them off the court because I'll still be engaged with them and talking to them, but they've left a legacy and I'm really proud of the legacy that they left."

For more from coach Warners and her five seniors after the match, click the video below: