NAPERVILLE, Ill. – Calvin pushed a strong North Central College team before falling in four sets in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at Gregory Arena. The Knights were defeated by the host Cardinals (6-2) 33-31, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19.

In the first set, Calvin (4-2) went head-to-head with a North Central team receiving votes in the latest AVCA Division III Top 20 poll.

Calvin trailed 17-14 in set one but responded with a 7-2 run to build a 21-19 lead. Calvin later had a set point at 24-23 but could not gain the clinching point. Calvin had five set points in the opener while North Central had four. Calvin's last set point came at 31-30 but the Cardinals responded with three unanswered points to seal the momentum building victory.

In set two, North Central built a 16-13 advantage and later led 20-16 and 22-18. Calvin fought back within 23-22 but a Cardinal kill and a Calvin attack error allowed North Central to take a 2-0 sets lead in the match.

North Central led 18-14 in set three but the Knights rallied. A kill from freshman Landon Dykema (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville HS) made it 18-16. Trailing 19-16, Calvin ripped off four straight points with sophomore Ezekiel Jalan (Oconomowoc, WI/Arrowhead) coming up with a kill and then a clutch service ace to spark the run. North Central later led 23-22 but three straight kills by junior Daniel Rua (Medellin, Colombia/Colegio Canadiense) allowed the Knights to claim the win and force set four.

The two sides were tied 17-17 in set four before North Central responded with five straight points to build a commanding 22-17 lead. The Cardinals closed out the set and the match with a quick 3-2 run.

Calvin finished the match with a .182 hitting percentage with North Central hitting .193. Calvin finished with 50 total kills to the 51 of North Central. Calvin tallied 14 blocks to North Central's 10. Calvin had 47 digs with North Central recording 51 digs. The Cardinals had seven service aces to Calvin's four.

Rua recorded 10 kills and five digs. Junior Justus Barbel (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora HS) racked up 10 kills, five solo blocks and three block assists to go with three digs. Playing in his hometown, sophomore Brady Gudauskas (Naperville, Il./Neuqua Valley HS) tallied nine kills, two services aces, two digs, two solo blocks and two block assists. Graduate student Gabriel Laughlin (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Michigan Aviation Academy) had nine kills, six digs, two solo blocks and two block assists. Jalan tossed out 34 assists to go with nine digs and two kills. Dykema came up with eight kills and a .438 attack percentage.

COACHES COMMENT: "That was a fun battle against a really solid team," said Calvin head coach Aaron Sagraves. "We need these experiences to help us continue to grow and move forward! To go toe to toe with a really solid North Central College side shows where we are and we will use this experience to go into the rest of our season."

NEXT UP: Calvin will open a busy week of action next Thursday, hosting the University of Olivet in an MCVL match at 7 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.