CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 15, 2006
Volleyball Upsets 8th-ranked Wittenberg;
Women’s Soccer Blanks Thomas More – Remains Unbeaten;
Men’s Soccer Battles Wittenberg to Scoreless Draw
VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Denison 1
Calvin 3, Wittenberg 1
SPRINGFIELD, OH – On the first day of competition at the Wittenberg University Border Battle, the Calvin women’s volleyball team stood up and made a powerful statement, upsetting eight-ranked Wittenberg 30-32, 39-37, 30-13, 30-13. The victory over the host Tigers completed a perfect first day of competition for the Knights as they opened the tournament with a 26-30, 30-18, 30-27, 30-20 victory over Denison University. Under the direction of head coach Amber Warners, the Knights are now 9-0 on the season, heading into Saturday matches scheduled against 18th-ranked Ohio Northern and Capital University.
Calvin’s victory over Wittenberg on Friday was its first over the Tigers since 1997 when the Knights upset Wittenberg 3-2 in a second round NCAA III Tournament match also played at Wittenberg’s HPERDs Center. Friday’s Calvin-Wittenberg match also featured a rematch of last year’s NCAA III Tournament national semi-quarterfinals, with Wittenberg winning the 2005 meeting to advance to the Elite Eight of the 2005 NCAA III Tournament.
In Friday’s match, Calvin used the momentum of a furious second game comeback to gain control of the match. In game one, Wittenberg (6-4) edged Calvin 32-30 but in game two, Calvin fought off the Tigers time and time again to win 39-37. The Knights then rolled in games three and four, winning both by scores of 30-13.
“Game two was definitely the key,” said Warners. “The difference with our team this in comparison to year’s past is our defense. We have so many players who can dig in the back row or block up front. That was really evident in our match against Wittenberg tonight. The encouraging thing is that I don’t think we’re even close to reaching our potential.”
Calvin amassed 123 digs and 33 blocks as a team in the win over Wittenberg. Sophomore Lauren DeGroot (Tulare, CA) had 37 digs to lead the Knights in the back row while senior Kristen Kalb (Stow, OH) had 24 digs to go with 15 kills. Junior setter Katie Zondervan (Lakewood, CA) also had 17 digs along with 59 assists. Freshman Kelsey Sears (Traverse City West HS) also had 14 digs and sophomore Stacie Lippert (Alma HS) 11 digs. Junior middle-hitter Molly Krikke (Greenwich, OH) and senior outside hitter Lorilyn Vogel (Orange City, IA) led the offensive attack with 20 and 16 kills respectively. Senior Katy Luimes (Caledonia, ON) also had a huge match, collecting nine kills and 15 blocks. Sophomore Jessica Garlick (Kalamazoo Christian HS) added eight kills and five blocks.
“As you can tell by looking at our stats, it was a total team victory,” said Warners. “If we want to be the team we want to be this year, we’ll continue to need a complete team effort.”
In the win over Denison, Calvin picked up 17 kills apiece from Vogel and Kalb while Krikke had 10 kills. Zondervan chalked up 53 assists and 18 digs while Lumies had eight blocks and Krikke nine blocks. DeGroot had 29 digs and Sears 25 digs.
Calvin is scheduled to face 18th-ranked Ohio Northern on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. followed by a 2:00 p.m. match against Capital University. Both teams qualified for the NCAA III Tournament a year ago.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 2, Thomas More 0
ERIE, PA – Recently ranked 18th in the D3kicks.com Top 25 poll and 20th on the National Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll, the women’s soccer team continued its undefeated campaign this evening at the Penn State Erie-Behrend Herb Lauffer Tournament. Calvin (6-0) defeated Thomas More College from Kentucky (0-4) with a final score of 2-0.
The Knights obtained an early 1-0 lead from a goal scored by freshman Emily Ottenhoff (Palos Heights, IL/Chicago Christian) late in the third minute. Her second goal of the year, Ottenhoff completed an assist from senior Sarah Weesies (Kalamazoo/Kalamazoo Chri
Outshooting Thomas More in the first half 7-3 was Calvin, which then added nine shots in the second to Thomas More’s one. Another pass by Weesies at 71:47 found the feet of senior Jill Capel (Hudsonville/Unity Christian), who converted it for her fifth goal on the season. Calvin held a 2-0 lead.
Freshmen goalkeepers Alyssa Bergsma (Walker/Calvin Christian) and Kayla Sulzer (St. Charles, MO/Whitfield) each took a half in the net and scooped up a save apiece. Calvin held a 16-4 shot advantage during the game, with Weesies leading with six shots for Calvin.
Looking to continue their success, the Knights will face Westminster tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. They will then bring it home next Tuesday, September 19, with a game against conference-opponent St. Mary’s College at 4:00 p.m.
MEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 0, Wittenberg 0 (2 OT)
WILMINGTON, OH – The Knights looked to snap a two-game losing streak this evening at the 23rd Annual Wilmington Kiwanis Classic in which they faced Wittenberg University. Though Calvin managed not to add another loss to its record, at the end of two overtimes the Knights came away with a 0-0 tie.
During regulation time, Calvin (2-2-1) out-shot Wittenberg 13-8 but held a 1-4 shots-on-goal disadvantage. In overtime, Wittenberg (3-3-1) narrowed the gap, holding Calvin to four shots while putting up seven.
Leading Calvin in shots was senior Maurice Wright (Wauwatosa, WI/Wauwatosa East) with a five-shot effort and sophomore Dan VanSlyke (Grove City, PA/Grove City) and Blake freshman VanWylen, who each contributed three shots. Wittenberg’s Matt Borland led his team with five shots.
Splitting time in the goal were junior Dave Fortosis (West Chicago, IL/Wheaton Academy), playing the first 95 minutes and gathering four saves, and sophomore Matt Gardner (Worthington, OH/Thomas Worthington), who finished up the overtimes with three saves. Wittenberg keeper Ben McAnnis-Entenman defended the goal for all 120 minutes with three saves.
Hoping to secure a win this weekend, Calvin is slated to go up against host Wilmington college tomorrow evening at 7:30 p.m.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri Sep 15 23:08:24 2006
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