Head coach Aaron Sagrave’s debut season for Calvin’s men’s volleyball has been off to a great start. Two weeks ago, the team opened the season with a trip to Mequon, Wisconsin. The first two matches were canceled due to extreme temperatures, which had engulfed much of the Midwest. Fortunately, the Knights were still able to take the court against both Concordia University-Wisconsin and Lakeland University, winning both matches. This past week, the Knights continued their success with a win against Aquinas College before taking a tough 3-1 defeat vs. Concordia University-Chicago in their first home matches of the season.
The beginning of the season is revealing an emphatic turnaround for a young program that has faced its fair share of adversity in recent years. Last season didn’t show the type of improvement the team had hoped for, as they finished 8-18 and 1-7 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play. During the offseason, the team experienced an unexpected coaching change, hiring Sagraves on Sept. 26, 2025. Assistant coach MacKenzi Vazquez took charge of the team during the transition. Lone senior and captain Gabe Laughlin explained that she was “our rock” during this time. He described the change as “a little difficult at first. All of a sudden, we had a coaching vacancy, but [Vazquez] stepped up and just did everything that we needed her to do.”
Sagraves has extensive coaching experience, from youth volleyball all the way up to the collegiate level. He joins Calvin after an 11-year stint at his alma mater, Cornerstone University, where he held roles as both coach and athletic director. Sagraves says his experience at Cornerstone played a key role in shaping who he is as a coach today.
At the beginning of the offseason, Sagraves’ first priority was getting to build relationships with his players. Without a doubt, his main emphasis was holistic growth. He explained, “I need to be able to help them through their walk as a young man, student and volleyball player.” For Sagraves, those relationships extend far beyond the volleyball court. “Spiritual life and then community life are the number one importance,” he said, emphasizing the type of relationship he wanted his team to have with one another. By teaching these crucial life skills to his players, Sagraves hopes that they will learn to support one another.
Since Sagraves has stepped in, Laughlin feels the team has improved. “We feel like a completely different team. It’s pretty much [a] night and day [difference] of how we are able to mesh together the chemistry that we have as a team. We’re excited to play together, and that’s a fun feeling. It doesn’t feel like a job; it feels like a privilege. It feels like something that I get to look forward to.”
This year, with the addition of new teammates on the roster, Sagraves has built an environment where players hold each other accountable, speak up, lead practices and support each other. The team often uses the acronym “ACES,” which stands for attitude, character, energy and service — these are all fundamentals the team is dedicated to. Sagraves is determined to find success this season; he says, “… being a young program … I don’t want to use that as an excuse ever. We’re going to go out and compete and try to find the best people to be a part of our program. [We look for students] who want to develop their faith, get a strong education from Calvin and perform at a high level of volleyball.”
In the Knights’ first two games of the season, they demonstrated their development in togetherness and discipline. Through their trip to Wisconsin, they were able to come away with two commanding 3-1 victories. In the first two wins, junior Brady Gudauskas recorded 26 kills and six service aces. This past week against Aquinas, junior Daniel Rua led the way with 10 kills, and Gudauskas contributed a team high of 16 digs.
Up next, the team will host Adrian College on Feb. 6.
