SPORTS REPORT FOR November 8, 2001
VOLLEYBALL
CINCINATTI, OH ¯ Cincinnati, OH--- The Calvin volleyball team saw its NCAA regional tournament run come to abrupt halt on Thursday afternoon, falling to the 20th ranked Carnegie Mellon Tartans 30-23, 30-26, 30-23. The tournament, hosted by Mt. St. Joseph, boasts a powerful field, as four of the six teams are ranked in the current AVCA Division III poll.
Calvin fell behind early in the first game 15-5, due to a sloppy serve receive. The Knights would not give up, however, using a long rally capped off by a Melissa Pell (Fremont) kill as a fulcrum for the comeback, giving the Knights a 20-19 advantage. The Tartans responded with a run of their own riding the jump-serving of junior defensive specialist Christina Casella to finish out the game 30-23.
"I think that we handled the pressure pretty well tonight," said Calvin head coach Jerry Bergsma. "We had some people that rose to the occasion and really helped us out. I think that we received good efforts out of our front row, but our lack of serve receive made us a little too predictable."
The Knights fell victim to the jump serve again in the second game, finding themselves on the wrong side of a 7-0 run spurred by Casella's serve, giving the Tartans a 15-10 lead. Trailing by nine points, 24-15, Calvin (22-12) used the spark of senior co-captain Michelle Bowen (Troy) to score nine of the next ten points. Bowen, normally known for her vocal support, lifted the Knights during that span with a crucial kill and a much needed block. Carnegie Mellon (26-6) responded to the Knight's run with timely kills by junior outside hitter Lauren Schmidt, closing the door 30-26.
"Bowen gave us the kind of spark tonight that she has been giving us each of her four years at Calvin," commented Bergsma on the game two heroics by Bowen. "She really rose to the occasion."
Calvin was led by Pell, as she garnered 12 kills and five blocks. Freshmen Kathy Brenneman (North Muskegon HS) and Kara Kuipers (Unity Christian HS) along with junior Cassie Christopher (Fruitport HS) collected six kills apiece, while Brenneman added 5 blocks, and Christopher contributed 12 digs. Senior setter and co-captain Sara Ahrenholz (Prinsburg, MN) dished out 26 assists in her final collegiate match. The 2001 University Athletic Association Player of the Year, Lauren Schmidt led Carnegie Mellon with 19 kills and 14 digs.
Calvin was making its 13th appearance in the NCAA III Tournament. The Knights are now 13-15 in NCAA III Tournament play.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
The Calvin men's and women's cross country teams are preparing for the Great Lakes Regionals Saturday in Three Rivers, Michigan. The regional is being held at the Pineview Golf Course with Kalamazoo College serving as host. Directions to Saturday's competition along with a written preview can be found at: http://www.kzoo.edu/sports/ncaa/ccregional01/ncaacross.html
In the lastest NCAA III national rankings, the Calvin women's cross country team is ranked second nationally, up one spot from third place ranking of the last five weeks. Defending national champion Middlebury is ranked number-one. On the men's side, Calvin continues to be ranked sixth in the national poll while Wisconsin-LaCrosse is ranked number-one.
The men's and women's national polls can be found at: http://www.titans.uwosh.edu/CrossCountryPoll.html#M
The MIAA pre-season coaches' polls for men's and women's basketball were released today and for the fourth straight year, the Calvin men's basketball team has been picked to win the MIAA regular season title. A year ago, Calvin captured its third straight league crown, finishing with a 10-2 conference record. The Calvin men's basketball team received three first place votes while Hope also received three votes and Albion one. In the women's poll, two-time defending champion Hope was picked to defend its crown as the Flying Dutch received a unanimous seven first place votes. Alma received one first place vote and was picked to finish second while Calvin was picked to finish third.
The Calvin men's basketball team will host an exhibition game Saturday night at 7:30 pm at the Calvin Fieldhouse against Sugar Mel's All-Stars. Admission if free. The Knights will officially open their season November 16 when they host their own Calvin Tip-Off Tournament. Calvin will open with Orchard Lake St. Mary's at 7:30 pm. Aurora (IL) and MacMurray (IL) will play in the first game Friday at 5:30 pm. The tournament will feature three teams that reached the NCAA III Tournament a year ago as Aurora, Calvin and MacMurray all earned post-season bids. The championship game of the Tip-Off Tournament is slated for Saturday, November 17 at 7:30 pm.
The Calvin women's basketball team will open its season officially November 16 at the Wilmington College Tournament. Calvin will open against Misericordia (PA) in a game slated to start at 8:00 pm. Host Wilmington will meet Manchester in the first game at 6:00 pm. The championship game of the Wilmington Tournament is set for November 17 at 4:00 pm with the consolation slated for 2:00 pm.
Previews of the Calvin men's and women's basketball teams can be found at: http://www.calvin.edu/sports/wpreview.htm
MIAA Pre-Season Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll
1. Calvin (3)
2. Hope (3)
3. Albion (1)
4. Adrian
5. Kalamazoo
5. Olivet
7. Alma
MIAA Pre-Season Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll
1. Hope (7)
2. Alma (1)
3. Calvin
4. Kalamazoo
5. Adrian
6. St. Mary's
7. Albion
8. Olivet
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