Box Score KENOSHA, Wis. – The Elmhurst volleyball team's season came to a close after the Bluejays dropped a 22-25, 14-25, 27-25, 21-25 decision to top-ranked Calvin College in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
 
Elmhurst came out fired up in the opening set, racing out to six-point cushion at 13-7. The Bluejays led 18-14 forcing Calvin to burn its second timeout of the set, but the Knights responded with a 5-2 run to close to within a point at 20-19. The Bluejays extended their lead to 22-20 on a Sam Szarmach kill, but Calvin closed out the set with a 5-0 run to grab the first set 25-22.
 

Calvin wasted little time jumping in front in the second set. Leading 7-6, the Knights ripped off an 8-0 run to build a commanding 15-6 advantage. Elmhurst came no closer than a seven-point deficit for the remainder of the set at Calvin pulled away for the 25-14, taking a two-set lead in the process.
 
Elmhurst led 4-2 early in the third set, but Calvin surged back, using a 5-0 run to take a 7-4 lead and force the Bluejays to burn their first timeout. Trailing 10-8, Elmhurst used a 5-1 run to jump in front 13-11 and force the Knights to call a timeout. Elmhurst led 15-12, but Calvin responded with a 5-1 run of their own to take a 17-16 lead and force the Bluejays to call their final timeout of the set. Back-to-back kills from Hannah Nimrick sparked a 4-1 run to put Elmhurst up 20-18. The Bluejays had three set points at 24-21, but Calvin fought off all three to even the score at 24-all. The Knights fought off another set point at 25-24, but Jackie Pavilonis pounded down consecutive kills to give Elmhurst the set at 27-25.
 
The two teams traded points for the early duration of the fourth set with Calvin building a 10-7 lead. Elmhurst pulled to within a point at 10-9. Calvin won the next two points to take a 12-9 lead and force Elmhurst to burn its first timeout. Elmhurst twice pulled to within a two-point deficit, but the Knights won back-to-back points on long rallies to open up a 16-11 advantage and forcing Elmhurst to burn its final timeout. Calvin built a 17-12 advantage before three straight Elmhurst points brought the Bluejays to within two and caused the Knights to call a timeout. Calvin slowly crept ahead and built a 23-17 cushion, but kills from Szarmach and Nava, combined with a Calvin error brought the Bluejays to within three points. Elmhurst fought off one match point before a kill from Laura Danhoff sealed the set and the match for Calvin.
 

"Calvin is a very good team but I thought we played them very well," said Elmhurst head coach Julie Hall. "We just made a few too many mistakes and I think our youth and inexperience may have showed tonight going up against a team that has a lot of talent and experience at the national level."
 
Elmhurst hit .242 for the match with 53 kills and 17 errors in 149 swings. Calvin hit .318 with 61 kills and 14 errors in 148 attempts.
 
Szarmach, Nava and Pavilonis paced Elmhurst's attack with 12 kills apiece in the loss. Nava added a match-high five blocks while Szarmach led the squad in digs with 18. Nimrick finished the match with 38 assists and nine kills. Alli Rogers chipped in with five kills and Amy Schryver added 17 digs.
 
Danhoff powered Calvin with 17 kills while Maggie Kamp added 16 kills and 16 digs. Emily Cowe added 10 kills while Jenna Lodewyk tallied 32 assists and 11 digs. Elise Biesboer finished with 23 digs.
 
Szarmach and Pavilonis closed the book on fantastic four-year careers, helping the Bluejays advance to the NCAA Tournament for consecutive seasons, including a Final Four appearance during the 2012 season.

"Sam and Jackie were tremendous leaders for us," said Hall. "We are certainly going to miss them next season. They've been a part of building our program back into a national power and I couldn't be more proud of the way they produced throughout their careers. We will have a lot of talent coming back next season but we know we're going to have to keep recruiting and need some players to step into the holes left by Sam and Jackie."
 
Elmhurst closed out the season with a 31-9 overall record and advanced to the second-round of the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year.