GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin University men's volleyball team recorded the program's first ever win on Tuesday night against Aquinas College at Van Noord Arena.
 
Calvin (1-5) defeated Aquinas (2-3) in four sets by the scores of 21-25, 25-21, 26-24 and 26-24.
 
The Saints looked strong early in taking the opening set 25-21, but the Knights answered right back with a 25-21 win in set two to even the match at 1-1.
 
Just like the first meeting between the two programs on January 26, the third set proved vital as the teams fought to take control of the match. The Knights looked to be in strong position late with a 23-20 lead, but the Saints came back to tie the set 24-24. After the Saints' run, Calvin responded with the final two points on kills by Aren Eisses (Utopia, Ontario/Unity Christian) and Gabriel Laughlin (Grand Rapids, Mich./Western Michigan Aviation Academy) to win the set 26-24 and take a 2-1 overall lead.
 
The fourth set looked much like the third as both teams fought throughout for control. After the Knights built an early lead, the Saints continually fought back and tied the score on nine separate occasions but could never jump in front.
 
After the Saints survived one match point to tie the score 24-24, the Knights took advantage of a service error, and then ended the match on a block from Nick Bultje (Byron Center, Mich./South Christian) and Arie Padmos (Martinez, Calif./Contra Costa Christian) to score the final point and secure the program's first ever win.
 
Calvin was strong on the attack throughout the match, hitting a season-best .264 overall and recording an attack efficiency of .348 or higher in each of the last three sets.
 
Laughlin was the star on the attack throughout the night, recording 15 kills and hitting .500 overall. Laughlin was particularly strong in the all-important third set when he finished with six of his 15 kills.
 
Padmos had a big night on the attack with eight kills against only one error. He also finished with five blocks.
 
Bultje led all players with 10 blocks to go with six kills, while Cameron Dogger (Holland, Mich./Zion Christian) recorded match highs with 36 assists and five service aces.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "A lot of excitement," Calvin head men's volleyball coach Spencer Fredrick said about the program's first ever win. "I'm really happy for these guys. They really played their butts off tonight. We told them to just leave it on the court and they did it. We're just really happy for the guys. They played phenomenally tonight."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's volleyball returns to action on Friday, February 9, when it hosts Concordia Chicago in a match scheduled to start at 5:00 PM at Van Noord Arena.