PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. - Today the Calvin men's volleyball played their final non-conference match of the season when they defeated the Trolls of Trinity Christian College 3-1 with scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-21, and 25-23. 
 
As the first set got underway both teams battled for points as there were several ties and lead changes early on. However, Calvin went on a 6-0 halfway through to get momentum on their side as they went on to dominate the rest of the set. Senior Gabriel Laughlin (Grand Rapids, Mich./West Michigan Aviation Academy) led the attack with five kills while junior Justus Barbel (Aurora, Ill./West Aurora) had four kills and one service ace.
 
The Trolls bounced back in the second set to tie the match 1-1 before freshman Trevor Munk (Lombard, Ill./Timothy Christian) and junior Brady Gudauskas (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) each chipped in key kills in the third set as Calvin reclaimed the lead.
 
The fourth set was a battle as Trinity Christian worked to extend the match. However, powered by six kills from Barbel and three kills from sophomore Bryce Broekhuizen (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo) gave the Knights the edge they needed to win the set and claim the 3-1 win.
 
Calvin finished the match with a .252 hitting percentage with their best performance of .480 coming in the first set. The Knights also recorded an impressive ten service aces with Barbel having three and freshman Landon Dykema (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) and junior Brady Gudauskas (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) each chipping in two.
 
Laughlin finished with a team high fifteen kills while Barbel was close behind with twelve kills. Broekhuizen had nine kills and four blocks while freshman setter Owen Wise (Lombard, Ill./Timothy Christian) had a team high twenty-three assists. Munk finished the match with a team high twelve digs.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "We had a lot of different guys in there tonight and it was awesome to see Owen Wise and Trevor Munk get the chance to play a big role," said head coach Aaron Sagraves. "In front of their former high school teammates from Timothy Christian who all showed up! It's special to see the support we have in our program from parents and family members"
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Friday, March 27th when they travel to Crawfordsville, Indiana to take on Wabash at 7 PM.