From: Jeff Febus (jfebus@calvin.edu)
Date: Fri Nov 07 2003 - 22:07:00 EST
CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 7, 2003
VOLLEYBALL
For the fourth time in the last five years, Calvin has advanced to the
championship final of the MIAA Tournament.
The Knights accomplished the feat with a 26-30, 30-18, 30-26, 30-22 victory
over rival Hope Friday night at Alma's Cappaert Gymnasium. Seeded second in
the tournament, Calvin (28-7) will face Alma in the championship final tomorrow
afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at Alma's Cappaert Gymnasium. Alma defeated Adrian in
five games in Friday's second semifinal match.
The Calvin/Alma winner will receive the MIAA's automatic bid to next week's
NCAA III Tournament. Both teams are regionally-ranked with Alma ranked sixth
in the Great Lakes Region and Calvin seventh. Alma has won the last four
meetings against Calvin including a pair of victories this year. Calvin is 3-0
against Alma in MIAA Tournament play however. The Scots (29-5) were the MIAA's
regular season champions at 13-1 with Calvin finishing a close second at 12-2.
A link to a RealAudio broadcast of Saturday's championship final can be found
at WWW.Calvin.edu/sports. The broadcast will be picked up upon immediate
conclusion of the Calvin-Alma men's soccer game slated to start at 2:00 p.m.
Saturday.
Calvin is 2-1 in MIAA Tournament finals, having won the league tournament in
1999 and 2001.
Calvin started slow in Friday night's win over the Flying Dutch (21-13) but
picked up momentum as the match progressed. In the opening game, Hope scored
10 of the final 16 points to claim the four-point win but the Knights reversed
the momentum with an impressive game two victory as the Knights led from start
to finish.
In the pivotal game three, Calvin snapped a 9-9 tie with a 6-2 run to build a
15-11 lead. The Knights would later lead 23-16 only to see Hope cut the gap to
25-23. Hope would get no closer than two points the rest of the way however as
the Knights held on for the win.
In game four, Calvin trailed 13-9 but rallied behind an 11-6 run to take a
21-19 lead. Hope scored the next points but the Knights would score none of
the next 11 to close out the match.
Sophomore middle-hitter Christine Hendricks (Cincinnati, OH) was superb for the
Maroon and Gold as she collected 20 kills and a number of key service aces.
Junior middle-hitter Kara Kuipers (Unity Christian HS) was also strong with 10
kills and 10 blocks. Kuipers is currently fourth in the nation in
blocks-per-game average (1.71). Senior Trisha Balkema (Highland, IN) also made
a big transition on Friday night as she moved to a left-front position from her
normal libero spot. It marked the first time in more than two years that the
Illiana Christian High School graduate had played up front and the move paid
dividends as she posted 12 kills and a team-high 20 digs. Junior Kristin
DeGroot (Tulare, CA) made the switch with Balkema, moving to the libero slot.
The move also paid off as DeGroot tallied 19 digs. Freshman Kristen Kalb
(Stow, OH) also had a big match wtih 12 kills while sophomore setter Jill
Scholten (Holland Christian HS) amassed 54 assists. Scholten is currently
eighth nationally in assists-per-game average (12.55)
Calvin's victory against Hope Friday night was its seventh straight against the
Flying Dutch dating back to the 2001 MIAA Tournament final Calvin is now 3-1
against Hope in MIAA Tournament play.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
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