GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin University men's volleyball team showed growth in its fourth ever match, coming up just short in a five-set defeat at Aquinas by the scores of 22-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-23, and 15-11 on Friday night.
 
Calvin (0-4) jumped out to a great start, winning the opening set 25-22 thanks to a .409 attack efficiency to take a 1-0 overall lead.
 
Aquinas (1-0) looked to even the match and built a 22-18 lead in the second game, but the Knights battled back from the late deficit and fought off one set point on the way to a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
Things started to shift in the third set, as the Saints scored six straight points to erase an 18-12 Calvin advantage, and then shook off another 23-20 Calvin lead late by scoring the final five points to force another set.
 
The teams battled back and forth in the fourth game, with Aquinas building a 20-15 lead before the Knights came back down the stretch. After Calvin fought off one set point, the Saints prevailed 25-23 to force a fifth and deciding game.
 
Aquinas came out strong and led 7-3 early in the fifth set, but Calvin once again roared back to cut the deficit to 11-10. The Saints had one final run in them, however, and scored four of the final five points to complete their comeback and secure the win.
 
The Knights finished the match with a season-best .218 attack efficiency compared to .121 for the Saints, but Calvin could not overcome its 27 serving errors.
 
Gabriel Laughlin (Grand Rapids, Mich./Western Michigan Aviation Academy) led the Knights with 15 kills, while Brady Gudauskas (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) joined him in double figures with 10 kills.
 
Nick Bultje (Byron Center, Mich./South Christian) hit .500 on the attack with nine kills to go with eight blocks.
 
Marc Rozendal (Dyer, Ind./Illiana Christian) finished with 40  assists.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "Proud of the team and the strides they made throughout the game," Calvin head men's volleyball coach Spencer Fredrick said. "Especially proud of Marc Rozendal, who stepped up in a big way at setter for us tonight." 
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's volleyball will return to action on Friday, February 2, when it hosts Siena Heights (Mich.) in the program's first ever home match. The match is scheduled to start at 7:30 PM at Van Noord Arena.