Grand Rapids, MI – A nine-match winning streak came to an end for the Clarkson University Volleyball team on Friday evening, as the Golden Knights dropped a pair of matches at the Mid-West Invitational to top-ranked Calvin College (25-11, 25-22, 25-14) and to Ohio Wesleyan (20-25, 25-18, 25-18, 22-25, 15-9).

The Golden Knights dropped to 17-6 on the season with the two defeats, while Calvin improved to 18-0 and Ohio Wesleyan jumped to 14-8. Clarkson will face Heidelberg and fifth-ranked Hope College on Saturday.

Playing the top-ranked team in the country and already being handicapped by being without their second-best offensive threat, the Golden Knights did what they could against Calvin College. Though the first and third sets were lopsided in favor of the home team, Clarkson certainly made things interesting in the middle set by coming within three points of sending Calvin to only its fifth loss in a set all season long. Rachael Aird finished with seven kills in 17 swing and Savannah Peters struck for a pair of kills to go along with four aces. Kate Isaksen contributed 18 digs and Jillian Saenz had 16 assists.

For Calvin, Anna Kamp had a double-double on 14 kills and 10 digs and Laura Danhoff scored 10 kills while Tessa Van Laare had eight kills. Keilahna Castillo produced 15 digs and three aces and Jenn Lodewyk recorded 38 assists.

In the second match of the night for Clarkson, the Golden Knights required five sets for the fifth time in 2016. Unfortunately for Clarkson, this was the first time this year that they were unable to come out on top. In the first set, a back-and-forth game went into Clarkson's favor as they turned a one-point deficit into a four-point lead with three kills, an ace and an opponent's error. Aird delivered a pair of kills on the final two points to give Clarkson a 1-0 lead. Ohio Wesleyan came back with two convincing wins in sets two and three, winning by seven tallies each time. The fourth set was lopsided in the favor of the Golden Knights as Sophia Holms put together a strong run of serves, including three aces, to turn a two-point advantage into a nine-point lead, and the Knights held on from there. The fifth set saw Clarkson rally from an early four-point deficit (6-2) and come back to within one on two occasions, but Ohio Wesleyan was able to keep the Knights at bay down the stretch and come away with a 15-9 win.

Aird had an impressive all-around match with 19 kills and a .311 hitting percentage to go along with eight blocks, including five solo efforts. Holms contributed nine kills, 18 digs, and four aces, while Kendall Cheval had eight kills and 11 digs. Jillian Saenz produced 41 assists, 11 digs and a pair of aces, and Kate Isaksen led the team with 26 digs.

Ohio Wesleyan's Shannon Schlater spread the ball around for 54 assists and also added 14 digs. Brianna La Croix recorded 17 kills, but had 11 errors in 52 swings, while Iris Anderson had 14 kills and five block assists. Kenzee Martin total nine blocks (one solo, eight assists). Mercedez Wood led the team with 15 digs.