GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Calvin University women's volleyball team pushed its winning streak to five with a 3-0 sweep of Saint Mary's College (SMC) by the scores of 25-13, 25-14 and 25-16 on Tuesday night at Van Noord Arena.
 
Calvin (17-3, 2-1 MIAA) was in control throughout and never trailed in either of the first two sets while holding the SMC (12-6, 0-4 MIAA) attack in check with the help of 10 blocks among the Belles' 16 errors.
 
The Knights were able to methodically wear down the Belles in the opening set, extending the lead to 20-13 before closing the set with a 5-0 run. Delaney Kemp (Frisco, Texas/Frisco Centennial) finished with seven assists, two aces and four digs in the set, while Sarah Bradley (Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate) led the attack with five kills.
 
The second set was more of the same, as the Knights led the entire way and blew open an 11-8 lead with an 8-1 run before closing the set strong. Emma Ekblaw (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) had three kills, two aces and two blocks in the set, while Mary Boa (Atlanta, Ga./Riverwood International Charter) recorded three blocks. Allison Moore (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter Christian) and Caralee Schipper (Mount Brydges, Ontario/Stahroy District Collegiate Institute) each had three kills.
 
SMC started strong in the third set and earned their first lead of the match early, but the Knights wrestled the lead away at 8-7 and never looked back as Bradley added five more kills while Boa and Schipper each picked up three kills to help secure the win.
 
Bradley had 11 kills to lead the Knights. Ekblaw and Schipper finished with nine and eight kills, respectively, for the Knights, who hit .257 on the attack for the match.
 
The Knights finished with 11 service aces, led by three apiece from Ekblaw and Lina Kasuboski (Racine, Wis./Union Grove). Boa led the team with seven total blocks.
 
Tryna Vander Zwaag (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian) led Calvin with 13 digs. Kemp finished with a team-best 20 assists.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "Without having Aerin (Baker) in the line-up, I thought everybody stepped it up and I thought Allison (Moore) did a great job filling her shoes and it looked like we didn't miss a beat, which is like a coach's dream for that to happen," head women's volleyball coach Dr. Amber Warners said. "I was really happy with our consistency."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin women's volleyball returns to action on Saturday, October 18, when it travels to Adrian College for a match scheduled to start at 1:00 PM.