No. 7 Thomas More volleyball upsets No. 1 Calvin (Mich.) in five sets on Saturday

NKyTribune staff

If anyone doubted Thomas More’s national ranking in the NCAA Division III poll, the seventh-ranked Saints quashed those skeptics on Saturday.

Freshman outside hitter Emily Mohs hammered down a career-high 36 kills as Thomas More upset No. 1 Calvin (Mich.) in five sets, 29-31, 28-26, 14-25, 25-20, 15-13, at the Midwest Invitational at Grand Rapids, Mich. The Saints improved to 22-2 and handed previously unbeaten Calvin (19-1) its first loss.

Madison Krumpelman added 16 kills and 15 digs for Thomas More, while teammate Jenna Mummert finished with 13 kills and three aces. With the fifth set tied at 13-all, Mohs converted an attack to give Thomas More a 14-13 lead. Jenna Fessler then served up an ace to finish off the match, and the Saints celebrated a road victory over the nation’s No. 1 team.

In addition to her 36 kills, Mohs also attacked at a torrid .373 clip. Mohs’ previous career-high for kills was 29, set earlier this season in a five-set win at Transylvania.

Julia Popova contributed eight kills and five blocks, while Fessler dished out 67 assists, scooped up 20 digs and added five kills.

Jessica Ginn collected 35 digs for Thomas More, which has now defeated five nationally ranked teams this season.

Anna Kamp led Calvin with 18 kills. The Knights hit .212 as a team and limited Thomas More to .143, but the Saints finished with an 81-57 advantage in kills.

In the earlier match on Saturday, Thomas More swept past Elmhurst (Ill.) by scores of 25-13, 25-16, 25-12. Mummert led the Saints with 12 kills, while Fessler added 32 assists, six service aces, five digs and two blocks.

Thomas More finished 3-1 at the two-day Midwest Invitational, having swept Susquehanna before losing to No.16 Hope (Mich.) in four sets on Friday.

Thomas More will play host to Transylvania at 7 p.m. Friday in the Connor Convocation Center.

(Information compiled from Thomas More and staff reports)