CSR (Volleyball Defeats Hope in Five-Set Thriller in Holland)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR OCTOBER 17, 2008

Volleyball Defeats Hope In Five-Set Thriller in Holland

VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Hope 2 (25-20, 23-25, 25-13, 13-25, 15-13)

HOLLAND -- The Calvin women's volleyball team has been a different team on the road this year. In home matches at the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center this fall, the Knights are just 2-2 but in matches on the road, Calvin is 13-2 including 5-0 in league play.

Calvin picked up its fifth MIAA road win of the season in scintillating fashion Friday night, defeating rival Hope in five sets by scores of 25-20, 23-25, 13-25, 25-13, 15-13. The match was played in front of more than 2,300 fans inside Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse and matched a pair of nationally-ranked teams as Hope came in ranked 12th and Calvin 17th.

The victory was Calvin's fourth of the year against a nationally-ranked opponent including its third win against a nationally-ranked team inside its home facility. Calvin also owns wins at nationally-ranked Ohio Northern and Wittenberg this season.

The win lifts Calvin within a victory of Hope in the MIAA standings as the Knights (16-4 overall) are now 10-2 in MIAA play while Hope (20-4 overall) is now 11-1 in league play. The win also marks Calvin's second victory inside Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse as the Knights also claimed a four-set victory inside the facility in 2006.

Friday's match marked the fourth five-set match of the year for Calvin this fall. The Knights are now 3-1 in five-set matches in 2008.

Calvin used a quick start and a strong finish to claim Friday night's victory. The Knights grabbed a big lead in set one and then held off a late Hope comeback run to claim an early 1-0 match lead. Behind a vocal crowd, Hope began to turn the tables in set two, fighting back from an 18-16 deficit with an 8-3 run to take a 24-21 lead. Calvin closed to within one at 24-23 but Hope closed out the set behind a big kill.

The Flying Dutch then rolled in set three, taking an early lead and never letting up. Behind some strong bench play, most notably from sophomore Kim Wigboldy (Chandler, AZ/Valley Christian HS), Calvin regained the momentum in set four and ripped off a lop-sided win, sending the match into a deciding fifth set.

Set five featured a nip-and-tuck affair with neither team leading by more than two points the entire set. Calvin pulled out to a 6-4 lead on a kill by senior Sara Kramer (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) and then a 7-5 lead on a Hope error. Hope scored the next three points to take an 8-7 lead but would never lead again as Calvin freshman Rebecca Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS) responded with back-to-back kills to put the Knights up 9-8. A kill by Wigboldy gave the Knights a 12-10 lead and an attack error by Hope put the Knights up 13-11.

Hope then tied the set at 13-13 on a kill and then a block but the Knights came up with the final two points as a Hope attack sailed out of bounds and Kramer followed with a kill down the middle to close out the match.

 Calvin was led by Kamp who had another huge match against the Flying Dutch, recording 25 kills, an attack percentage of .407, one solo block and eight block assists. In the first meeting of the year between Calvin and Hope back on September 19, Kamp had 23 kills and a .413 attack percentage. Kramer also had a big match for Calvin on Friday with 10 kills and a hitting percentage of .381. As a team, Calvin recorded a respectable .258 hitting percentage. Junior Rachel DeYoung (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) had five kills while Wigboldy and freshman Erin VanderPlas (Cadillac/McBain Northern Michigan Christian HS) chipped in with four kills apiece. VanderPlas also had four block assists.

Junior libero Kelsey Sears (Traverse City/Traverse City West HS) was a key to Calvin's back row play, racking up 32 digs while junior defensive specialist Katie Corbet (St. Joseph/Stevensville-Lakeshore HS) had 16 digs.

Senior setter Lauren DeGroot (Tulare, CA/Central Valley Christian HS) was also stellar for the Maroon and Gold with 41 assists, 11 digs, three kills and three block assists.

Calvin will now break until next Tuesday when it hosts Olivet at 6:30 p.m. inside the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center.

MIAA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 10-17-08

Hope 11-1
Calvin 10-2
Alma 9-3
Saint Mary's 7-6
Adrian 7-6
Albion 4-8
Trine 3-8
Kalamazoo 3-9
Olivet 1-12

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri Oct 17 21:48:25 2008