THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The Calvin University men's volleyball team closed its season-opening tournament at California Lutheran University with a pair of defeats on Saturday.
Calvin (0-3) opened the day with a 3-0 defeat to 15th-ranked UC Santa Cruz (2-1) by the scores of 25-14, 25-22 and 25-15, and then finished the tournament with a 3-1 loss to Wisconsin Lutheran College (1-3) by the scores of 20-25, 25-23, 26-24 and 25-22.
UCSC 3, Calvin 0
The Knights opened the day with a 3-0 defeat to 15th-ranked UC Santa Cruz by the scores of 25-14, 25-22 and 25-15.
After the Banana Slugs took the opening set, the Knights were in position to tie the match with a strong start to the second game. The teams went back and forth throughout the set and the Knights led 20-18 late, but UCSC scored seven of the final nine points to win 25-22.
The Banana Slugs used that momentum to get off to a strong start in the third game and closed out the Knights with a strong finish to secure the win.
Brady Gudauskas (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) led the Knights with nine kills.
Jake Davidson (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) finished with seven digs, while
Ezekiel Jalan (Oconomowoc, Wis./Arrowhead) had eight assists and two service aces.
WLC 3, Calvin 1
Calvin got off a strong start, but WLC held off the Knights in the next three sets to take home the four-set win by the scores of 20-25, 25-23, 26-24 and 25-22.
The match was close throughout, with the Knights closing the first set on a 6-2 run to take a 1-0 overall lead.
The teams continued to trade leads in the second set. Calvin came back from a 22-19 deficit to tie the game at 23-23, but the Warriors recovered to win the final two points and tie the match at 1-1.
WLC jumped out to a big lead to start the third set at 7-1, but Calvin methodically cut into the deficit to tie the match at 16-16. The Knights held a late 23-21 lead with the hopes of regaining the momentum, but the Warriors closed the set with a 5-1 run to secure a 2-1 overall lead in the match.
The Warriors looked to be in firm control of the fourth set with a 22-17 lead, but Calvin roared back to make things them work down the stretch at 24-22 before WLC closed the set with a kill by Drew Wempner to win the match in four sets.
Troy Jones (Sparta, Mich./Sparta) led the Calvin attack with 12 kills, while
Gabriel Laughlin (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Michigan Aviation Academy) recorded 11 kills (with a .526 attack efficiency) and four aces.
Alejandro Burns (Chandler, Ariz./Seton Catholic Preparatory) led the Knights with 29 assists.
Jackson Cook (Kuna, Idaho/IHLA) led the team with 12 digs.
COACH'S COMMENT: "For the first weekend, it was good to see growth throughout," Calvin head men's volleyball coach
Spencer Fredrick said. "Now we get a week to practice and clean up some things before our next competition."
NEXT UP: Calvin men's volleyball will return to action on Friday, January 24, when it travels to Marian University for a two-day tournament. The Knights will face Westminster College (Mo.) at 1:00 PM (CT) to start the day, followed by a match against Marian at 7:00 PM (CT).
