CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR November 13, 2008
Women’s Volleyball Bows Out of NCAA III Tournament in First Round;
Warners Named Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year/Kamp Named Great Lakes
Freshman of the Year
VOLLEYBALL
UW-Whitewater 3, Calvin 1
By Chaz Amidon
OSHKOSH, Wis. – Trailing 24-12 in the fourth set, one point away from
elimination, Lauren DeGroot sends her second-to-last collegiate serve over the
net.
It is an ace, searing down the heart of the UW-Whitewater defense. Her last
ace. The Knights are far out of reach, but she doesn’t know it. She still
fights.
The waning moments of Calvin’s first-round loss to the No. 15 Warhawks –
NCAA-III champions in 2002 and 2005 – exemplified a season of that fight,
whether it was battling opponents or themselves, injuries of inexperience.
Losing in four sets (18-25, 25-22, 18-25, 14-25), the Knights’ 15-game win
streak was erased, as was their winning record against Top 25 teams. Still, No.
12 Calvin ended the ended the 2008 season 26-5 and erased early-season
skepticism about its consistency.
“It’s hard to see the big picture, but we’re certainly disappointed,”
said coach Amber Warners. “I keep reminding myself and the players that
we’ve had a phenomenal year.”
After dropping the first set, Calvin bit back in the second, rallying from
behind and stringing together a 6-2 run to even up the score, 1-1, against a
UW-Whitewater program that has made six Final Four appearances since 2000.
The Knights used that second-set momentum to jump out to an 8-5 lead in the
third, but the Warhawks went on a 14-2 run, building a commanding lead that the
third-place squad from the WIAC would not surrender for the entirety of the
match.
“It was disappointing, but if we lost to a team we didn’t deserve to lose
to, it’d be worse,” said DeGroot. “They are an under ranked team.”
On the heels of a nine-day layoff, Calvin’s last game was played against
Kalamazoo in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament back on Nov. 4. Hope, the
outright MIAA champions who also had a nine-day break, wilted in a five-set
loss to Heidelberg on Thursday night.
According to Warners, both MIAA squads had difficulty adjusting to the
up-tempo play that they encountered in the NCAA-III Tournament.
“I think we looked a little bit rusty, a step too slow,” said Warners.
“I think having nine days off really hurt us.”
Freshman Rebecca Kamp, who was named the MIAA MVP on Monday, led Calvin with
21 kills and three block assists. In doing so, she entered Calvin record books
by reestablishing new single-season records for hitting percentage (.400) and
kills-per-set (4.87) – the latter of which was the nation’s second-best
mark during the 2008 season.
Kamp shattered Christine Veltman’s previous record for hitting percentage
(.395) while breaking Calvin assistant coach Molley Krikke’s record for kills
(4.79).
“The future is bright for us,” said Warners. “If we get a few more
players in that can help replace the seniors, the sky’s the limit for the
next group.”
Rachel DeYoung and Sara Kramer each added six kills in defeat, and Erin
VandePlas chipped in five. DeGroot, a former MIAA Defensive Player of the Year,
totaled 33 assists in her final collegiate match.
DeGroot was the last of a trio of sisters who completed four-year stints
playing volleyball for Calvin. Her departure after the 2008 season now caps a
12-year period with at least one DeGroot sister playing for the Knights.
“It hasn’t hit me yet because I haven’t gotten ready to go back to
practice tomorrow,” said DeGroot, who holds Calvin’s single-season record
for digs (727). “Obviously I’m sad and of course I wanted it all this year,
but it didn’t happen.”
Calvin’s loss to UW-Whitewater signified the only time that Warners’
Knights dropped an NCAA-III first-round match throughout the past five seasons.
The Knights fell to Carthage – the No. 2 team in the UW-Oshkosh Region – in
the second round of last year’s tournament, while they advanced to the Sweet
Sixteen in 2005 and 2006 and fell, both times, to Wittenberg, a team that is
hosting regional action this weekend as well.
Making their 18th NCAA-III Tournament appearance, Calvin now has a record of
19-20 in national postseason play, dating back to the 1984 season –
Warners’ first year as a setter for the Knights. They would finish fourth
that year, and would return back to the Final Four to claim national runners-up
honors in 1986.
“They will. I keep thinking that as I get older the losing gets easier, but
it doesn’t,” said Warners. “I’m really proud of the way they didn’t
get angry with each other out on the court. I think they represented God and
our college extremely well throughout the season.”
The Knights, who will also lose seniors Jessica Garlick and Stacie Lippert in
this coming offseason, finished 2008 with a 4-4 record against ranked
opponents. Calvin’s key wins came against No. 5 Wittenberg, No. 8 Ohio
Northern (twice), and No. 17 Hope.
GREAT LAKES ALL-REGION/COACH OF YEAR HONORS ANNOUNCED
GRAND RAPIDS – For the second time in three years, Calvin College head
volleyball coach Amber Warners has been named Great Lakes Regional Coach of the
Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. In addition, Calvin
freshman middle hitter Rebecca Kamp has been named the Great Lakes Regional
Freshman of the Year and has landed a spot on the Great Lakes All-Region team.
Warners recently concluded her eighth year as a head collegiate volleyball
coach which includes seven years at Calvin and one year as interim coach at
Hope (1994). Warners is 223-56 (.799) as a collegiate volleyball coach and
202-45 (.818) at Calvin. Heading into the 2008 season, Warners was ranked
fourth among active Division III coaches among winning percentage. AVCA Region
Coach of the Year Announcement
This fall, Warners led Calvin to a 26-5 record and a second place showing in
the MIAA with a 14-2 conference record despite losing three All-Americans to
graduation a year ago. During the season, Calvin recorded victories over
nationally-ranked Wittenberg, Ohio Northern and Hope. The Knights also ripped
off a 15-match win streak that was not stopped until the first round of the
NCAA III Tournament this afternoon against Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Warners was also selected as the Great Lakes Region (Division III) Coach of
the Year in 2006.
A native of Holland and a 1990 graduate of Calvin College, Warners is now
eligible for National Coach of the Year consideration.
A 6-1 middle-hitter, Kamp is from Orland Park, Illinois. She is a graduate of
Chicago Christian High School. This fall, Kamp was a two-time AVCA Division III
National Player of the Week and was recently named the most valuable player and
freshman of the year in the MIAA.
Kamp is the first player from Calvin to receive Great Lakes Regional Freshman
of the Year honors. Heading into today’s first round match with
Wisconsin-Whitewater, Kamp was ranked second nationally in kills-per-set,
fifth in hitting percentage and 18th in blocks-per-set.
Kamp finished the year with an attack percentage of .400 and a kills-per-set
average of 4.87 establishing new Calvin single-season records in both
categories.
As a member of the Great Lakes All-Region team, Kamp is now eligible for AVCA
Division III All-America consideration.
n addition, Calvin senior setter Lauren DeGroot and junior libero Kelsey Sears
received AVCA Great Lakes Honorable Mention All-Region mention.
DeGroot is from Tulare, California. She is a graduate of Central Valley
Christian High School. DeGroot moved from the libero position into the starting
setter’s spot this fall and averaged 8.96 assists and 2.57 digs per set. She
also collected 34 service aces.
Sears is from Traverse City and is a graduate of Traverse City West High
School. At the libero spot this fall, she collected a team-leading 553 digs and
was ranked among the nation’s top-50 in digs-per-set. Earlier this week,
Sears was named the MIAA’s Defensive Player of the Year.
GREAT LAKES ALL-REGION TEAMS:
http://www.avca.org/awards/divisional%2D/division%2Dthree%2Dall%2Dregion/
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Thu Nov 13 22:14:14 2008
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