GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin men's volleyball team competed in day two of the Calvin Invite against the Regents of Rockford University. After taking a quick 2-0 lead, the Knights stumbled and eventually fell to Rockford 2-3 with scores of 25-14, 25-15, 22-25, 18-25, and 13-15.
 
The Knights started the match strong as they showed dominance over the Regents in the first set. Sophomore Brady Gudauskas (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) and senior Gabriel Laughlin (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Michigan Aviation Academy) led the way for Calvin with three kills apiece while freshman Jake Davidson (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) and Giovanni Serafini (São Paulo, Brazil/American School of São Paulo) each chipped in two kills.
 
In the second set, despite falling behind early, the Knights quickly regained their composure and fought their way back. With the score sitting at 24-15 in Calvin's favor, Laughlin and sophomore Nick Bultje (Byron Center, Mich./South Christian) picked up a monster block to give the set to the Knights and extend their lead to 2-0.
 
However, the Regents refused to quit and fought back as they stunned the Knights by taking the third and fourth set to tie the match at 2-2.
 
In the final set, both teams matched each other point for point as it came down to the wire. Trailing 12-14, Calvin fought off match point for Rockford with a kill from Laughlin to make it a one-point game. However, the Regents got the best of the Knights in the next rally as Rockford came from behind to defeat Calvin 3-2.
 
Calvin finished the match with a .177 hitting percentage with their best performance of .256 coming in the second set. Laughlin led the attack for Calvin with 14 kills and 5 block assists while Guduskas was close behind with 12 kills.
 
Davidson finished with a team high of 13 digs while sophomore setter Cameron Dogger (Holland, Mich./Zion Christian) recorded 23 assists. Freshman setter Ezekiel Jalan (Oconomowoc, Wis./Arrowhead) contributed 16 assists and 6 digs.

COACHES COMMENTS: "Unfortunately, we were not able to match the same intensity we had in the first two sets," said head coach Spencer Fredrick. "We had too many service errors and hitting mistakes which led to Rockford being able to make a comeback. Missed opportunities on free balls ultimately came to bite us in the end."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Tuesday, February 25th when they play their first match of MCVL competition against Trine at 7PM.