GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Elmhurst volleyball team dropped a pair of matches against top-10 opponents at the second day of Calvin College's Midwest Invitational.
 
Elmhurst dropped its opening match 25-18, 25-23, 25-14 to No. 1 ranked Calvin before falling 25-13, 25-16, 25-12 to No. 7 Thomas More College.
 
CALVIN 3, ELMHURST 0 – Calvin remained undefeated on the season at 19-0 after upending the Bluejays in three sets.
 
Calvin raced out to an early 10-4 lead in the opening set and never looked back, taking the first 25-18. Elmhurst (9-13) hung right with Calvin for the entire second set, as neither team led by more than three points for the entire set. The score was even at 17-17 before Calvin surged in front with the next two points. Elmhurst closed the gap to a point on five occasions, but the Knights held off the Bluejays for the 25-23 win. Calvin raced out to a 10-5 lead in the third and quickly pulled away as Elmhurst came no closer than four points the rest of the way.
 
Elmhurst hit .062 for the match with 34 kills and 27 errors in 113 swings. Bailey Brouwer and Alexandra Tyggum led the Bluejays with nine kills apiece in the loss. Kelly Townsend totaled 15 assists while Katie Davis added 11. Valerie Thomas led the team in digs with 12 while Townsend added 11.
 
Calvin hit .306 for the match with 38 kills and just eight errors. Sarah DeVries and Anna Kamp paced Calvin with 11 kills each.
 
THOMAS MORE 3, CALVIN 0 – Elmhurst fell to 9-14 on the season after dropping a three-set decision to No. 7 Thomas More.
 
Thomas More (21-2) led from wire-to-wire in the opening set to jump out to an early one-set lead. Thomas More broke open an 11-11 tie in the second set with a 9-1 run to open up a 20-12 lead before putting the set away at 25-16. Thomas More scored the first four points and never looked back in the third, cruising to the win to wrap-up the match.
 
Elmhurst struggled with its offense, finishing with 20 kills and 19 errors in 93 attacks, hitting just .011 for the match. Taylor Zurleiene led the Bluejays in the loss with five kills while Emily Duis and Brouwer chipped in with four kills apiece. Townsend led the squad in assists with 10 while Thomas tallied a team-best 12 digs.
 
Jenna Mummert (12 kills) and Emily Mohs (10 kills) led Thomas More's attack in the victory.
 
Elmhurst plays at Milikin University on Tuesday, October 16.