CSR (Volleyball Stretches MIAA Win Streak to 38 With Win Over Alma)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR SEP. 26, 2007

Volleyball Stretches MIAA Win Streak to 38 With Win Over Alma

VOLLEYBALL
(Written by Annalise Venhuizen '08)

Calvin d. Alma 30-24, 30-16, 30-27

GRAND RAPIDS -- The second of three conference games this week turned out in
Calvin's favor, the Knights extending an undefeated streak in MIAA play to 38
matches. The visiting Scots of Alma (5-14, 1-6 MIAA) put up a battle to the
finish this evening, but Calvin (12-3, 7-0 MIAA), ranked 15th in the latest
AVCA Division III Top-25 poll, came out victorious in three games, 30-24,
30-16, 30-27.

Alma set the momentum in game one as Calvin had a slow start and trailed 4-1.
As the Knights found their offensive groove, however, Calvin pulled ahead to a
12-9 lead with kills from seniors Kristen Kalb (Stow, OH/Stow-Munroe Falls) and
Molly Krikke (Greenwich, OH/South Central). Alma stayed close and tied the
game at 19-19 before sophomore Sara Kramer (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian) had two
kills to give the Knights a 24-20 lead. The last two points for Calvin came
from kills by freshman Kim Wigboldy (Scottsdale, AZ/Valley Christian), Calvin
taking the game 30-24.

Game two was Calvin's from the start, as the Knights scored six unmatched
points, two of which were Krikke kills. The Knights capitalized on Alma's
unforced errors and continued to dominate offensively to stay well ahead of the
Scots. The final three points of the game were scored by Calvin kills as the
Knights took the game in dominating fashion, 30-16.

Calvin looked poised to take game three just as easily, leading by as many as
11 points at 19-8. During that stretch, Krikke amassed three kills, one
service ace, and one block, and Kalb added four kills. Alma then put a stop to
the Calvin offense, forced errors, and tallied up four kills to come within
three points at 21-18. Calvin then answered with five straight points
receiving kills from senior Katie Zondervan (Lakewood, CA/Central Valley
Christian) and junior Jessica Garlick (Portage/Kalamazoo Christian) while also
using three Alma errors. Alma outscored Calvin 7-2 in the following exchanges
however to close the margin to 28-25. Alma's points came from four kills that
penetrated the Calvin defense and one huge block. Kramer then nailed a kill
coming off of the time out to make it game-point, but Alma answered with two
points of its own before giving the game to Calvin on a hitting error. Calvin
took the 30-27 win and the match.

Krikke led Calvin at the net with 19 total kills and four blocks, while Kalb
contributed 13 kills and 15 digs. Kramer had 8 kills and 4 blocks in the win.
Zondervan also played a key role in the success of both the offense and defense
with 40 assists, two service aces, and 13 digs.

Junior libero Lauren DeGroot (Tulare, CA/Valley Christian) was stunning with a
season-high 33 digs along with a pair of service aces. Sophomore Kelsey Sears
(Traverse City/Traverse City West) contributed 17 digs.

Leaders for Alma were Rebecca Bruning and Kim Gillhespy with 9 and 8 kills
respectively and Katie Porter, who had 27 digs.

The Knights close out a long week of conference match-ups on the road at
Albion on Friday in a 6:30 p.m. game.

MIAA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 9-26-07

Calvin 7-0
Adrian 5-1
Hope 5-2
Tri-State 4-2
Saint Mary’s 3-4
Albion 2-4
Kalamazoo 2-5
Alma 1-6
Olivet 1-6

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Wed Sep 26 21:20:35 2007