Holland, Mich. – Calvin dropped a four-set match at second-ranked Hope Saturday night in the MIAA Tournament Championship final at DeVos Fieldhouse, falling by scores of 26-28, 25-23, 25-15, 25-15.

Calvin moves to 19-9 on the year. Calvin entered Saturday ranked 41^st in the NCAA Power Index rankings and are on the bubble for NCAA III Tournament consideration. The new power index finalizes upon completion of the regular season which will end Sunday in Division III. The final power rankings and tournament selections will be listed Sunday night with the bracket unveiled next Monday afternoon.

Calvin took the opening set against Hope behind a determined effort with the Knights digging up multiple balls to extend rallies. Calvin fought off a set point at 24-23 and then had set points of its own at 25-24 and 26-25 only to see Hope tie the set on both instances. A service error by Hope and a double-block by senior Vanessa Martinez (Wyoming, Mich./Hudsonville HS) and junior Aerin Baker (Saugatuck, Mich./Saugatuck HS) closed out the set one win for the Knights.

The set one win was the first set loss Hope had suffered against an MIAA opponent this season.

Calvin threatened to steal set two, fighting back from a 22-18 deficit to creep to within at point at 24-23 on service ace by Baker. Hope was able to side out and gain a set-clinching kill on the following point to even the match.

Hope (25-2) then began to flex its offensive muscle in set three, scoring eight unanswered points to build a 16-8 lead and ultimately pull away for the 25-15 win. In set four, Calvin forged a 10-10 tie with the Flying Dutch but Hope came up with a 9-2 run to build a 19-12 lead and never looked back.

Baker led the Calvin attack with 12 kills to go with four blocks, five digs and a service ace. Senior Avery Ekkens (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian HS) had 10 kills, seven digs and a service ace.

Junior middle blocker Emma Ekblaw (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton HS) and sophomore Jasmine Namminga (Pella, Ia./Pella Community HS) had eight kills apiece with Namminga racking up six blocks and Ekblaw three. Martinez had five kills and four blocks to bump her career blocks total to 477, moving past Rhonda Volkers and into fifth place on the Calvin career list.

Freshman Mackenzie Gerig (Rochester, NY/Hilton HS) racked up a career-high 23 digs. Freshman setter Grace Spoelma (Caledonia, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) had 20 assists while fellow freshman setter Delaney Kemp (Frisco, Texas Frisco Centennial) had 18 assists, 13 digs and two service aces.

COACHES COMMENT: "I was really proud with the way we came out and played point for point with them," said Calvin head women's volleyball coach Amber Warners. "I really liked our mentality. We just didn't have enough to overcome their firepower late in the match."