After trailing for much of the first set, Calvin kicked it in to beat Hope in three sets (25-20, 25-20, 25-15) Friday to win the regular season MIAA championship for an 11th straight season.
"It is just a huge priveledge to see the banners up on the walls and be able to wear the jersey," junior setter Anna Schriemer, who had 34 assists, said. "We just want to keep carrying on the tradition of Calvin volleyball."
The Knights rallied to score 14 of the final 20 points in the first set before controlling sets two and three.
"I feel like our bond together on the court and off the court is so amazing," freshman Gabriella Kellogg, who had 8 kills, said. "The legacy of Calvin volleyball has been like that thanks to coach. I think we just have a great bond which shows on the court."
Both the Knights and Flying Dutch entered the match unbeaten on the season and ranked in the top 15 nationally.
"I was really pleased with the way our team came out," Calvin head coach Dr. Amber Warners said. "I thought we had a really good level of intensity but still calm and I thought we played very well at the serve-pass game for most of the match so that allowed our hitters to be in system. I want to congratulate Becky (Schmidt) they've had a tremendous season just like we have and it was really fun to play some great volleyball tonight."
Ana Grunewald had 11 kills for Hope, Adair Cutler had 19 assists.
The teams will begin the conference tournament next Tuesday with the Knights as the one seed and the Flying Dutch the two seed.
The rivals could square off again next Saturday in the conference tournament championship game.