CSR (Volleyball Falls to 6th-Ranked Wash. U in NCAAs)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 12, 2004

NCAA III TOURNAMENT VOLLEYBALL
(Written by Josh Miller & Jeff Febus)

PELLA, IA * In second round action of the NCAA tournament, Calvin fell to the sixth ranked Washington University (MO) Bears (29-6) 30-26, 24-30, 30-17, 30-21. The loss ends the Knight's season with a 28-9 record. Calvin reached the second round of NCAA tournament play for the first time since 1997 with a victory Thursday night over Nebraska Wesleyan.

Calvin held strong through game one, trading points for most of they way with Washington University. Facing a 15-12 deficit halfway through, the Knights eventually evened the score at 22-22, but the Bears were too strong and finished on an 8-4 run to take game one 30-26. Calvin used a pair of runs at 9-1 and 7-1 to pace themselves past the Bears in game two in a 30-24 victory. Game three was close at the start with Calvin taking a 12-11 lead, but the Bears used a 19-5 run to finish the Knights at 30-17. Calvin had eleven kills and twelve hitting errors in the third game. Game four was out of the hands of Calvin early as they trailed 9-4. Though it would cut the lead to four at 24-20, Washington scored six of the final seven points to take a 30-21 victory in game four and a 3-1 victory for the match.

Calvin was led offensively in defeat by junior Christine Hendricks (Turpin), who had 14 kills and one block assist. Hendricks was closely followed by senior Kara Kuipers (Unity Chirstian) who had 13 kills and two block assists. These two were fed all evening by freshman setter Katie Zondervan (Valley Christian), who had 52 assists. Senior Kristin DeGroot (Central Valley Christian) had 16 digs to lead the Knights' defense. DeGroot also had two kills and two service aces.

Washington received 15 kills from Colleen Winter and 12 kills apiece from Megan Houck and Ishi Ballew with setter Kara Liefer tossing out 51 assists.

Calvin bowed out while making its 14th NCAA III Tournament appearance. The Knights are now 14-16 in NCAA III Tournament competition.

"Washington is a tremendous team," said Calvin women's volleyball coach Amber Warners. "There's a reason why they are the defending national champions. They have height, athleticism and a lot of poise. At the same time, I'm proud of my team for not folding early. We put up a great fight for awhile. It just wan't enough this evening."

Calvin will now have to say "good-bye" to five seniors who played in their final Calvin College Volleyball match this evening. They are Kara Kuipers, Kristin DeGroot, Angie Sietsema (Grandville), Lisa Eastway (Grand Rapids Christian), and Megan Foster (Community Baptist Christian).

"This was a great experience for our younger players," said Warners. "We bring several players back for next year and I think this (tournament) experience will help them down the road. I also want to thank my seniors from the bottom of my heart. They have much huge contributions to this team and I will miss them very much."

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri Nov 12 20:29:36 2004