November 3, 2001
VOLLEYBALL
For the 13th time in school history and for the fifth time in the last seven
years, the Calvin women's volleyball team is NCAA III Tournament bound. The
Knights booked their ticket to the NCAA III Tournament with a momentous 30-21,
30-26, 30-22 victory over rival Hope in the MIAA Tournament Championship final
Saturday night at Hope's Dow Center.
Calvin's victory over Hope Saturday night marked its first victory over the
Flying Dutch at the Dow Center since 1993. It also marked Calvin's second
consecutive win in as many nights over an MIAA co-champion as the Knights had
defeated MIAA co-champ Alma Friday and then achieved the feat over MIAA
co-champion Hope Saturday.
Calvin's MIAA Tournament title was its second as the Knights were also MIAA
Tournament champions in 1999, defeating Hope in five games in the 1999 title
tilt. Hope came back to claim the 2000 title with a four-game win over Calvin
in the tournament final.
Calvin seized momentum from the outset and never let it go as Hope would not
string together a run longer than three points the entire match. Calvin jumped
out to a 17-8 lead in game one and traded points with Hope the rest of the game
to gain a game one win. In game two, Calvin built a 22-16 lead only to see Hope
(20-13) close to within three points at 23-20. The Knights then ripped off four
straight points capped off by a kill by freshman Kathy Brenneman (North
Muskegon). Brenneman later added a block for Calvin's 29th point as the Knights
would hold on for the 30-26 game two win. In game three, Calvin went up 19-12
and maintained a five-point lead the rest of the game. Freshman Kara Kuipers
(Unity Christian) scored Calvin's 28th point on a block and then picked up the
29th point for the Knights on a kill. Hope came back with a point to trail
29-22 but a service error by the Flying Dutch closed out the match.
Junior Cassie Christopher (Fruitport) led the Knight attack with 12 kills along
with eight digs while junior Melissa Pell (Fremont) had 11 kills, four digs, one
ace and one block. Freshman Kristin DeGroot (Tulare, CA) picked up eight kills
and seven digs while Kuipers had six kills and three blocks. Senior setter Sara
Ahrenholz (Prinsburg, MN) was strong in directing the Calvin offensive thrust,
collecting 33 assists while also picking up seven digs.
Hope was led by Martha Luidens who recorded 15 kills while setter McKenna Troyan
had 31 assists. As a team, Calvin was credited with five service aces while
committing only five service errors. Hope had two service aces and 12 service
errors.
"A big part of our success tonight was due to the play of our defense," said
Calvin volleyball coach Jerry Bergsma. "We were able to get a lot of defensive
touches on their offensive attacks. We also had a balanced effort for our
offensive attack which made it more difficult to defend."
Calvin will now await its seeding for next week's NCAA III Tournament which will
open Thursday night with regional play. The Knights are likely headed to either
Ohio or Wisconsin and will carry a five-match win streak into tournament play.
"We've played in both locations in the past so we're prepared to go to either
state if that is the case," said Bergsma. "We're hoping to carry the momentum
we built in the MIAA Tournament into the NCAA's."
WOMEN'S SWIMMING
The defending MIAA champion Calvin women's swimming and diving teams broke one
of the longest winning streaks in MIAA history as the Knights defeated Hope
139-101 Saturday afternoon at Hope. Hope had won its last 50 conference dual
meets, stretching over nearly a decade of time. Calvin also picked up a 202-14
victory over Olivet at Hope Saturday.
Hope took first place in the first three events but the Knights captured eight
of the next 10 events including a 1-2-3 sweep in the 50 freestyle and on the
three-meter diving board.
Junior Katie Nagelkirk (Holland Christian) led the Calvin sweep in the 50
freestyle with a tiem of 24.88 while senior Erin Kloostra (Grand Rapids
Christian) was second in 35.46 and freshman Courtney Bechler (Holt) third 26.55.
Nagelkirk also captured first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 53.94.
Calvin's sweep on the three-meter board was led by sophomore Sara TerHaar
(Bradenton, FL) who was first with a score of 198.50. Freshman Anna Battoclette
(Cincinatti, OH) was second (175.80) and sophomore Melissa Huffman (Bay City)
third (174.55).
On the one-meter board, Calvin went one-two with Huffman winning with a score of
190.60 while TerHaar was second (190.55).
Junior Anne Kuiper (Houghton) was also a double-winner for the Knights, taking
first place in the 200 IM (2:17.09) and in the 200 breaststroke (2:33.15).
Bechler was Calvin's other individual winner as she took first place in the 200
backstroke (2:19.06). Calvin's 400 freestyle relay of Kloostra, senior Kate
Conrad (Calvin Christian), Bechler and Nagelkirk also took first with a time of
3:41.44.
Calvin returns to action next Friday when it travels to Wayne State for a
non-conference meet scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm.
MEN'S SWIMMING
Calvin's bid for its first dual meet victory over Hope since 1985 came up just
short as the Knights were defeated by the Flying Dutchmen 120-110 in an MIAA
dual meet Saturday afternoon at Hope's swimming complex. Calvin also defeated
Olivet 213-12 in an MIAA dual meet Saturday at Hope.
Hope took first place in seven of the 13 events including first place in the
first three events. Sophomore Brad White (Dayton, OH) and freshman Peter
Boumgarden (Naperville, IL) were both double-winners for the Knights with White
winning the 50 (21.72) and 100 freestyle (47.72) events. Boumgarden took first
in the 200 IM (1:59.45) and 200 butterfly (1:58.08). Junior Brian Koster (Grand
Rapids Christian) was a winner for Calvin on the one-meter diving board with a
score of 196.65 while Calvin's 400 freestyle relay team of junior A.J. Penninga
(Grand Rapids Christian), Boumgarden, senior Kevin Hawkins (Oakdale, CA) and
White took first place with a time of 3:13.01.
Calvin returns to action next Friday when it competes at Wayne State in a
non-conference dual meet scheduled to begin at 6:00 pm.
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