CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR OCT. 7, 2008
Volleyball Holds Off Trine in Five;
Women's Soccer Blanks Alma
VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Trine 2
Written by Chaz Amidon
GRAND RAPIDS -- Ranked No. 17 in the nation, the women’s volleyball team won
its second consecutive MIAA match-up Tuesday, prevailing in an electrifying
five-game bout over the visiting Trine Thunder (16-25, 25-16, 24-26, 25-15,
15-6).
After dropping its previous five-game thriller against Adrian on Sept. 27, the
Knights bounced back from a first-set loss and rallied for wins in the fourth
and fifth sets to stun coach Kevin Schaefer’s new-look Thunder program.
“We’ve seen this up-and-down (play),” said Calvin coach Amber Warners.
“We had the same kind of start against Albion (Oct. 1)…our job as a
coaching staff is to get our players to play more consistently.”
Calvin’s “rollercoaster” conference season, as Warners terms it, began
with three straight wins over Kalamazoo, Trine and Alma. The Knights faltered
in their home opener against Hope on Sept. 19 and, amid claiming three league
victories over Saint Mary’s, Olivet and Albion, withered in their final
triangular match against Adrian.
“It’s not about the wins or losses, or who we play, or who’s next,”
said Warners. “It’s something we have to take care of on our side. We have
to come out much more confident and aggressive to start a game than we have
been, and that’s something a young team has to work through.”
On Tuesday, the Knights were led by the always-stellar play of freshman
Rebecca Kamp, who opened sets 1 through 4 with either a kill or a block to set
the tone offensively for Calvin.
Kamp is currently the D-III national leader in kills-per-set (5.06),
accumulating 15 against the Thunder.
“She’s our go-to person,” said Warners. “She has some amazing athletic
ability and she’s a great person to coach.”
Freshman Erin VanderPlas added nine kills for the Knights, while junior Sarah
Kramer chipped in seven and senior Jessica Garlick racked up six.
Senior Lauren De Groot, who was awarded the MIAA Specialty Player of the Week
for the fifth time in her collegiate career on Monday, dished out 39 assists.
Elizabeth Ribben’s (Tinley Park, IL/Victor J. Andrew) goal and assist just
minutes into the second half moved Calvin back into first place in the MIAA
standings with a 2-0 win over Alma at Zuidema Field.
“We are not necessarily worried about where we are positioned as we are
whether we execute from game to game,” said coach Mark Recker.
MIAA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 10-7-08
Hope 10-0
Alma 7-2
Calvin 7-2
Saint Mary’s 5-5
Adrian 6-5
Albion 4-6
Trine 3-7
Kalamazoo 2-8
Olivet 0-9
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 2, Alma 0
written by Bruce VanBaren
GRAND RAPIDS - Calvin is ranked eighth in the latest division III poll and was
second to Alma heading into the game. The Knights also won their 22nd
consecutive MIAA game, dating back to October 26, 2005.
“Coach always tells us that we have a target on our back,” said Allison
Boender (Grandville/Calvin Christian). “We are ranked and every team in the
MIAA is going to come in wanting to beat us. No team is going to come in and
fall over.”
The Knights outshot Alma 8-2 in the first half and controlled possession, but
failed to get on the scored board.
“I thought we started out slow today in the first half,” said Recker.
“Our execution, drive and desire were more evident in the second half. So
it really is pleasing even though we might not have our best effort to begin
with our team was able to step up.”
Just four minutes into the second half, Ribbens dribbled over sixty yards with
Alma defender Kelley Walsh at her heals. At the eighteen yard line, Ribbens
fired a shot that deflected off the cross bar and past Alma goal keeper Emma
Heppler to put Calvin up 1-0 in the 48th minute.
“(Ribbens) is our senior and she’s one of our strikers,” said Recker.
“I challenged them at halftime. Who’s going to stand up and deliver in
terms of their ability? To her credit she said it’s going to be me today. And
she went out and played very well in the second half.”
It was Ribbens’ sixth goal of the season, putting her second behind Emily
Ottenhoff (Palos Heights, IL/Chicago Christian) who has a team high seven
goals. Ottenhoff was the table setter for Calvin in the game, controlling the
middle of the field. She also had a team high five shots.
“Halftime really opened it up,” said Ribbens. “We kind of all knew that
we had to step it up and that we had to make this happen. It felt like we were
in a little bit of a lull (in the first half).”
Four minutes later Ribbens put Calvin on the board again, this time finding
Carly Prins on a cross from the left side. Prins angled a shot past Heppler for
her fourth goal of the season. Calvin outshot Alma 11-0 in the second half, for
a 19-2 edge in the game.
“I thought Carly, Natalie Veurink (Spring Lake/Western Michigan Christian)
and the whole midfield (played well in the second half),” said Recker.
“Once we start to see that level of energy from a couple of players all of
the sudden it’s infectious and the rest of the team starts kicking in and
doing the same thing.”
Calvin’s defense shut down an Alma offense that scored 33 goals already this
season and nine goals in just three conference games. Alma managed two shots in
the first half and didn’t get a single shot off in the second half. It was
the Knights fifth shut out of the season.
Calvin travels to Saint Mary’s on Saturday for a noon kick off and Olivet
next Wednesday. The Knights return home against Kalamazoo on October 18 to
start a two game home stand.
MIAA WOMEN’S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-7-08
Calvin 3-0
Adrian 3-1
Alma 3-1
Hope 3-1
Albion 1-1
Olivet 1-2
Kalamazoo 0-2
Saint Mary’s 0-3
Trine 0-3
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Tue Oct 7 23:41:16 2008
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