CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 5, 2005
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 5, Olivet 0
GRAND RAPIDS * For the first time since 1997, the Calvin women's soccer team can call itself MIAA champions. And for the first time since 1998, the Knights are headed to the NCAA III Tournament.
Under the direction of fifth-year head coach Mark Recker, Calvin (16-3-1 overall) captured a share of the MIAA title with a 5-0 victory over Olivet Saturday afternoon at Marvin A. Zuidema Soccer Field. Calvin concludes its MIAA campaign with a 15-1-0 conference record and shares the crown with Hope (15-1-0). Calvin gains the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament however based on goal differential in head-to-head games against Hope this year with the Knights holding a one-goal edge. Calvin will find out its NCAA III Tournament destination either late Sunday night or early Monday morning from the national committee.
The league title ended several years of frustration for the Knights as they had finished just one point away from a league title in both 2003 and in 2004 while also coming close in 2001 and 2002.
"Having come that close but not winning the MIAA title over the past four years was difficult but I think it also gives an indication of how difficult it is reach that (championship) plateau," said Recker. "We won this championship with a collective team effort. We've been strong on both offense and defense this season and I think that speaks to the quality of players that we have on our team."
Calvin's five-goal effort on Saturday allowed the Knights to finish with 83 goals in league play, breaking the previous MIAA record for goals in a season of 81 that was set by Kalamazoo in 1992 in a 12-game season. The Knights also built their overall season goal total to 86, breaking the previous Calvin single-season record of 81 set by its 1998 NCAA III Tournament team.
In addition, Calvin finished with the MIAA's top defense, allowing only three goals in league play which included 14 shutout victories out of a possible 16 conference games.
Junior forward Jill Capel (Unity Christian HS) played a big role in Calvin's victory on Saturay with two goals and an assist while junior forward Sarah Weesies (Kalamazoo Christian HS) had a goal and two assists. The dynamic duo finished one-two in the MIAA scoring race with Capel finishing the league season with 49 points with Weesies second with 45 points.
Also scoring a goal for Calvin on Saturday were senior Kara Zuidema (Escondido, CA) and freshman Michelle Koele (Denver, CO) while freshman Juliana Litts (Alexandria, VA) had two assists and freshman Ashley Bolen (Urbana, IL) one assist.
Calvin led 3-0 at halftime and finished with a 32-1 shots at goal advantage. Senior Linda Heilman (South Christian HS) and freshman Kristin VanderWal (Western Michigan Christian HS) combined on the shutout victory in goal for the Knights.
"We're excited for the opportunity to play in the NCAA III Tournament next week," said Recker. "Making it to the tournament has been one of our goals for quite some time and it's part of our goal of building a tradition of excellence in our program."
FINAL MIAA WOMEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS
Calvin 15-1-0
Hope 15-1-0
St. Mary's 10-5-1
Albion 9-7-0
Kalamazoo 8-8-0
Olivet 7-9-1
Alma 4-12-0
Adrian 3-13-0
Tri-State 0-16-0
VOLLEYBALL
Calvin d. Hope 27-30, 30-25, 30-26, 29-31, 15-13
HOLLAND * For the fourth time in seven years and for the second straight year, Calvin has captured the MIAA Tournament title. Calvin captured the MIAA Tournament crown with a thrilling five-game victory over rival Hope Saturday afternoon in the Hope Dow Center, winning by scores of 27-30, 30-25, 30-26, 29-31, 15-13.
With the tournament title, Calvin gains the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament. The Knights (28-8 overall) will be making their third national tournament appearance in the last five years and their 15th appearance in school history. Calvin is 14-16 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play.
Calvin will find out its NCAA III Tournament destination either late Sunday night or early Monday morning from the national committee.
Calvin gained the victory over Hope in come-from-behind fashion in front of an overflow crowd, falling 30-27 in game one before coming back to win games two and three. Calvin held a lead for much of game four but could not finish off the Flying Dutch (27-8), forcing a game five.
Hope opened game five with an 8-4 lead but Calvin battled back with three straight points to trail by one. The two teams then traded points back-and-forth before the Knights were able to rip off a pivotal five-point run to take a 13-10 lead. Senior Christine Hendricks (Cincinnati, OH) came up with two kills in the five-point spurt and then came up big again with the MIAA Tournament title hanging in the balance. With Calvin leading 14-13, Hendricks dropped an dink shot into a wide-open Hope middle to clinch the crown.
"I'm extremely proud of this team," said fourth-year Calvin head coach Amber Warners who is now 110-32 at the helm of the Knights. "We've battled through some injuries this year but our team never gave up. We started to jell around mid-season and we've been playing our best volleyball of the year over the last two weeks. And I tip my cap to Hope. We had to dig down and come up with everything that we had left in the tank to beat them. (Coach) Becky Schmidt has done a wonderful job with her team this year."
Calvin was led in the win over Hope by Hendricks who chalked up 25 digs, 19 kills and five blocks. Junior Lorilyn Vogel (Orange City, IA) was next for Calvin with 17 kills and three blocks. Sophomore Molly Krikke (Greenwich, OH) also had a huge afternoon for the Knights, compiling 15 kills and a match-high nine blocks while senior Katie Schultz (Escondido, CA) had 16 digs and 13 kills.
Calvin's specialists were also stellar as sophomore setter Katie Zondervan (Lakewood, CA) tossed out 63 assists and picked up 13 digs while freshman libero Lauren DeGroot (Tulare, CA) had 25 digs and three service aces.
Sophomore Sarah Ernst (Fort Wayne, IN) also came off the bench to provide five service aces and eight digs while freshman defensive specialist Stacie Lippert (St. Louis HS) had nine digs in the back row. Not to be forgotten was the play of freshman Jessica Garlick (Kalamazoo Christian HS) who contributed five kills and seven blocks.
As a team, Calvin finished with 27 blocks and 106 digs while Hope came up with 87 digs and 15 blocks.
"Our defense was the main reason why we won today," said Warners. "Defense wins championships and it was true for us today. We received a total team effort. Everyone on our team contributed in some way or another."
With her 25 digs, DeGroot built her season total to 632 digs, breaking the previous Calvin single-season record of 617 set by her older sister Kristen last year. "We love the DeGroot family," laughed Warners. "Their oldest sister Alicia was a terrific defensive specialist in the 1990's and we were fortunate to have Kristen the past four years. Now Lauren is having her turn and she's doing a great job of keeping the family tradition alive at Calvin."
Zondervan now has 1,705 assists on the year * also a new Calvin single-season record. The previous record was 1,625 assists established by Sara Ahrenholz during the 1999 season.
MENS SOCCER
Calvin 5, Kalamazoo 0
Calvin closed out its regular season campaign in style, defeating visiting Kalamazoo 5-0 Saturday afternoon at Marvin A. Zuidema Soccer Field.
Calvin closes out its regular season mark with a 15-4-1 mark and must now play a waiting game for a possible at-large bid to the NCAA III Tournament. The tournament field will be selected later this weekend.
With the victory, Calvin closed out its MIAA campaign in second place with an 11-3-0 conference mark.
Calvin got on the board early, scoring on a penalty kick by senior Kurt Visker (Grand Rapids Christian in the second minute of play after freshman forward Anthony Gratson (Rochester Stoney Creek HS) was taken down in the Kalamazoo penalty box.
The game stayed that way until the second half when senior Levi Kool (Holland Christian HS) scored on a 20-yard blast five minutes in. The Knights then tacked on goals from junior Nick Capisciolto (Unity Christian HS), sophomore Jared Litty (Hudsonville HS) and Visker.
Calvin finished the game with a 17-10 shots at goal advantage while senior goalkeeper Joe Westra (Grand Rapids Christian HS) had five saves for the Knights to post his 33rd collegiate shutout victory.
FINAL MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS
Hope 13-1-0
Calvin 11-3-0
Albion 9-4-1
Olivet 7-6-1
Kalamazoo 7-7-0
Tri-State 4-10-0
Adrian 2-12-0
Alma 2-12-0
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Nov 5 23:14:29 2005
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