The best start to a season for the Hope volleyball team ended Tuesday night with a  three-set loss at top-ranked Calvin College.

The Flying Dutch, who earlier in the day moved up to second in the American Volleyball Coaches Association NCAA Division III Coaches Poll, suffered their first loss in a 25-17, 25-21, 28-26 defeat in front of a Van Noord Arena crowd of 2,121.

Hope had won 12 matches in a row to start the 2013 season. The Flying Dutch are now 12-1 overall and 3-1 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play.

Calvin is 13-0 overall and 5-0 in MIAA action.

Junior Jenna Grasmeyer of Hudsonville (Unity Christian HS) led Hope with 11 kills. Juniors Anna Lynch of Lake Odessa (Lakewood HS) and Amy VanderStoep of Holland (West Ottawa HS) added seven kills apiece.

Maggie Kamp's 16 kills topped Calvin.

By Alan Babbitt, Hope Public Relations