ANGOLA, Ind. – The Calvin University men's volleyball team lost its inaugural conference opener in the MCVL at Trine University on Thursday night 3-1 by the scores of 25-10, 25-9, 21-25 and 25-18.
 
The Thunder were in control to start the match, opening with four service aces and building an 11-1 early lead on the way to a 25-10 opening-set win.
 
After Trine (10-4, 1-0 MCVL) continued its strong run with a 25-9 second set, the Knights fought back in the third. With the score tied 14-14, Calvin (3-11, 0-1 MCVL) scored six of the next seven points to build a 20-15 lead, and then held off a late Thunder rally to win the set 25-21 and force a fourth game.
 
The Knights continued to battle in the fourth set and led 11-9 near the midway point, but Trine answered with eight straight points to take a 17-11 lead on the way to winning the set and the match.
 
After a slow start on the attack, Calvin finished with a .300 attack efficiency in the third set and hit .219 in the fourth. Trine hit .625 in the opening set and .588 in the second before finishing at .358 for the match.
 
The Thunder controlled the serving game early with 10 aces in the first two sets, but the Knights found answers and held them to three in the last two sets for a total of 13 for the match.
 
Arie Padmos (Martinez, Calif./Contra Costa Christian) led the Knights with nine total kills, followed by Gabriel Laughlin (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Michigan Aviation Academy) with eight kills. Laughlin also finished with two service aces, while Padmos led Calvin with nine digs.

Cameron Dogger (Holland, Mich./Zion Christian) led the Knights with 26 assists and five blocks.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "Hats off to Trine for putting on a phenomenal performance throughout the match," Calvin head men's volleyball coach Spencer Fredrick said. "We look forward to getting back to work next week as we prepare for a tough tournament at Juniata." 
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's volleyball returns to action on Friday, March 8, when it travels to Juniata for the start of a two-day tournament. The Knights will face Virginia Wesleyan at 5:30 on Friday, followed by matches against Nazareth (11:00 AM) and Juniata (5:00 PM) on Saturday.