The No. 1-ranked Hope College volleyball team is sharing the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association lead after losing in four sets at Calvin on Wednesday.

The Flying Dutch rallied late but fell 25-22, 25-17, 25-27, 25-23 to their third-ranked rival.

Hope (25-1 overall) went the longest in NCAA Division III this season before losing a match.

Photo of Jayne Kessel, left, and Becky Schmidt, by Lynne Powe

Hope and Calvin (23-3 overall) are now 13-1 in MIAA play with two league matches remaining.

Senior Jenna Grasmeyer of Jenison, Michigan (Hudsonville Unity Christian HS), recorded 15 kills to lead the Flying Dutch.

Senior Anna Lynch of Lake Odessa, Michigan (Lakewood HS), totaled 12 kills for Hope.

Junior Lauren Hazekamp of Fruitport, Michigan (Fruitport HS), had 42 assists.

Hope coach Becky Schmidt credited Calvin for its play. The Flying Dutch won their first meeting of the season in three sets on Sept. 20 at DeVos Fieldhouse.

"They played with a lot more ball control and put us into situations that were a little more difficult," Schmidt said. "We've got to be a little better coming out of some of those spots, mostly off the serving line. We've got to be able to be able to pass-serve much more effectively than what we're doing right now. That's going to help our offense get back into rhythm a little bit."

Hazekamp agreed that the match was a learning experience for Hope.

"We didn't start off as strong as we'd like," Hazekamp said. "It took us longer to get into our fast-paced game. It was good volleyball, a good atmosphere. Now we have to go from here."

Schmidt liked the fight her players showed late in the match, especially during a third-set win.

"There was much more coordination between the front row and the back row, and that facilitated the opportunity to take big swings better than we did in the first two sets," Schmidt said. "That is our style — we take big swings — and we were able to get into that in the third."

Avoiding a sweep at Calvin did give the Flying Dutch a consolation prize.

Hope remains in position to land the top seed and home-court advantage for the Nov. 7-8 MIAA Tournament over Calvin.

If both teams win their final two league matches and share the regular-season title, Hope holds the tiebreaker for deciding the MIAA's top seed because it only three sets to Calvin while Calvin dropped four sets to the Flying Dutch. 

Hope returns to action on Tuesday, Oct. 28, when the Flying Dutch host Kalamazoo at DeVos Fieldhouse. Start time is 7 p.m.