CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2007
VOLLEYBALL
(Written by Annalise Venhuizen '08)
Calvin 3, Kalamazoo 2 (30-20, 26-30, 27-30, 30-11, 15-10)
Calvin 3, Hanover 0 (30-21, 30-27, 30-16)
GRAND RAPIDS -- As host of one half of the Midwest Challenge, a two-day
invitational co-hosted by Calvin and Hope that features Division III and NAIA
teams, Calvin faced two opponents from differing conferences Friday evening.
The 4:00 p.m. match put the Knights up against MIAA conference opponent
Kalamazoo, a match which counted toward the conference record. The 6:30 p.m.
game was a battle of two conference leaders as MIAA-leading Calvin faced
Hanover College, who stands in first in the Heartland Athletic Conference.
After a five-game struggle with Kalamazoo, Calvin (24-4) secured at least a
share of the MIAA regular season title by upping its league record to 14-1.
Calvin took the first game and then dropped the second and third games as it
struggled defensively but returned to take games four and five in commanding
fashion. In game one, Calvin consistently held the lead and scored its last
five points on offensive kills by freshman Kim Wigboldy (Chandler, AZ/Chandler
Valley Christian) and senior Molly Krikke (Greenwich, OH/South Central).
Game two appeared to be in Calvin's favor as it held a 19-12 lead after five
uncontested points, a streak which included two Krikke kills and one from
senior Kristen Kalb (Stow, OH/Stow-Munroe Falls). However, four unforced
Calvin errors allowed the Hornets to close the margin to 21-18, and after four
service aces and a block, Kalamazoo led 29-24. Calvin continued to fight, but
Kalamazoo took the game 30-26. Game three opened with defensive errors that
put Calvin down 9-4. Though the Knights recovered to a 10-9 lead, the Hornets'
offense proved too much to deal with, and Calvin found itself down 21-28.
Calvin refused to easily give up the last couple points and showered the
Hornets with five kills--three from Krikke and two from junior Jessica Garlick
(Portage/Kalamazoo Christian)--before Kalamazoo could win the battle 30-27.
Not allowing the previous two games to determine the ultimate victory, Calvin
took a commanding early 15-4 lead in game four, fueled by a strong defense that
enabled a stellar offensive showing, eleven of the first fifteen points coming
from kills. Two Kalb service aces saw the Knights up 25-6 and consistent play
gave Calvin the 30-11 decision. Calvin also had a strong early showing in game
five, leading 8-3 after consecutive kills by Kalb and Krikke. Two Garlick
kills at 14-7 and 15-10 sealed the conference victory for the Knights.
Sophomore defensive specialist Kelsey Sears (Traverse City/Traverse City West)
and junior libero Lauren DeGroot (Tulare, CA/Central Valley Christian) led the
Knights defense with 25 and 19 digs, respectively. Senior setter Katie
Zondervan, ranked second in NCAA Division III for assists-per-game, also had 25
digs and dished out 62 assists.
Kalb had her hands in the offense and defense as well with 19 kills and 14
digs, while Krikke had an amazing offensive showing with 30 kills and also put
up five blocks. Sophomore Sara Kramer (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian) added 11
kills and 3 blocks.
Sophomore Katie Corbett (St. Joseph/Stevensville-Lakeshore) stepped up on
defense as well, amassing 16 digs. "Katie had great digs today and also served
for a string of points. She put in a consistent defensive effort," head coach
Amber Warners said.
Consistency is one of the challenges the Calvin team is facing this season,
says Warners. "Volleyball is a really difficult sport to play consistently in.
When we struggled, it was because we weren't putting things together. We're
trying to work through some things as far as playing together, and this brings
our confidence down."
But the team's tenacity, a trait that has been absent during the last few
weeks in Warners' opinion, is what brought Calvin through the first match and
fired them up for the second. "I was happy about what I saw today because that
fire was back. The fire to excel and win kept us tough and helped us work
through the hard points. To see that again really encouraged me."
That tenacity made for a smoother victory over Hanover, who kept pace with
Calvin in game one until Calvin started to edge away after a 17-17 tie.
Calvin's defense at the net and in the back row allowed the offense to account
for five of the last nine points, with kills from Krikke, Kramer, and Kalb to
take the 30-21 win. Game two between the leaders of their respective
conferences was neck-in-neck until Calvin strung together three kills, one
apiece from Garlikc, Krikke, and Wigboldy to make the score 27-25 Calvin. The
Knights took advantage of three unforced Hanover errors to give them the 30-27
victory.
Game three opened with a nine-point Calvin run as a response to Hanover taking
the first three points of the match. However, three Hanover service aces
helped to tie the score at 9 before Calvin ran away with a 20-11 lead. Three
consecutive Krikke kills gave Calvin a 26-14 lead that led to the 30-16
match-winning decision.
Krikke led the offense with 23 kills and five blocks, for a total of 53 kills
and 10 blocks on the evening. "I don't know if there's a player who has a
longer reach than Molly," Warners said. "She can often hit over the block, and
she comes through consistently."
Garlick and Kramer added eight kills each and Kalb had seven, and Zondervan
gave out another 46 assists. On defense, DeGroot had 16 digs and Sears
contributed eight.
When asked the key to Calvin's struggles and successes tonight, Warners
replied: "It's the defense. When you don't have a solid pass, it puts the
setter off the net and takes the middle hitter out, leaving her only option as
the outside hitter. Blockers know this and move there every time. The defense
is the start of everything."
And with her team-leading 35 digs this evening, DeGroot was a key component of
that defensive machine. "Lauren had some amazing digs," Warners said. "She is
excellent not only at reading the hard hits but also at sending a perfect pass
to the setter every time."
Play continues tomorrow with matches at Calvin between Aquinas and Anderson
and between Calvin and Albion at 11:00. Albion will then face Aquinas as
Calvin faces Anderson at 1:30 p.m.
Complete Midwest Challenge Results:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/volley/MidwestChallenge2007.htm
MIAA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 10-26-07
Calvin 14-1
Hope 13-2
Adrian 11-5
Tri-State 9-6
Albion 6-9
Saint Mary’s 6-9
Kalamazoo 5-10
Alma 3-13
Olivet 2-14
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri Oct 26 21:43:38 2007
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