CSR (Vball Defeats Alma in Four/Men's Soccer Settles for Tie at Adrian)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR September 25, 2009

Volleyball Defeats Alma in Four Sets;
Men's Soccer Forced To Settle for Tie at Adrian

VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Alma 1 (24-26, 25-13, 25-15, 25-18)

After losing a disappointing first set to conference rival Alma Friday night
at Calvin's Van Noord Arena, the Knights responded in a big way, taking the
match in the next three sets and handing the Scots their third conference
loss.

The victory advanced Calvin to an undefeated 5-0 record in the MIAA, and a
10-3 record overall.

Managing the Calvin attack was senior setter Nora Bruskewitz, who contributed
43 assists. Bruskewitz kept the Scot defense guessing, utilizing every facet
of the Calvin offense. Five Knights had seven or more kills, sophomore Rebecca
Kamp leading the way with 18.

But the match didn’t start out Calvin’s way. With a 23-18 lead late in
the first set, the Knights conceded six straight points to the Scots. After a
crucial Kamp kill tied the set at 24, the Knights dropped the next two points
and lost set one by a score of 26-24.

Calvin rebounded in a big way in set two. Using some precision,
offensive-minded serving, the Knights stormed back to handedly capture the
second set 25-13. Senior libero Kelsey Sears propelled the Knights to an early
lead from the serving line, and Kamp closed the game in similar fashion.
Making a statement in set two, Calvin didn’t look back for the remainder of
the match.

“Our serving really took them out of their offensive system. Aggressive
serving is definitely a strength of our team,” said Coach Amber Warners.

After set three was deadlocked at seven early, the Knights broke it open.
Senior Sara Kramer led the team with a .467 hitting percentage, and gave Calvin
multiple clutch kills to halt any hopes of an Alma scoring run.

Set four followed the script from the prior two Set, with the Knights pulling
ahead and capitalizing on a 25-18 victory to take the match. Early in the
fourth set, the Knights displayed some flash from all sides of the ball with
Sears diving past the ten-foot line for one of her 24 digs. Bruskewitz got a
one-fisted set on the ball to right side hitter Kramer, who crushed an attack
through the block for a kill.

Warners was also impressed with the intensity she saw from her team in the
final three games.

“I was really happy to see the heart and fire from our team in sets two,
three, and four. That’s something that has been missing from our team this
year,” she said.

The victory sets up a battle between Calvin and Hope, both undefeated in
conference atop in MIAA on Saturday, Sept. 26. The rivals will clash in
Holland with hopes of taking sole ownership of the conference driver’s seat.

MEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 0, Adrian 0 (2 OT)

ADRIAN – Calvin fired 35 shots at the Adrian goal but could dent the back of
the net as the nationally-ranked Knights were forced to settle for a 0-0
double-overtime tie Friday night at Adrian’s Performance Stadium.
Calvin (6-1-1 overall, 1-0-1 MIAA) outshot Adrian 35-9 including 10-3 in the
first half and 9-0 in the pair of 10-minute overtime sessions.

The Knights were also credited with 12 corner kicks to Adrian’s one but
could not find a way to score a goal against Adrian’s defense.

Adrian goalkeeper Alex Pavlika had 10 saves for the Bulldogs (3-4-1, 0-1-1
MIAA) including a pair of key stops in overtime. Calvin goalkeeper Jared
Rushlau (Grandville/Grandville HS) had two saves in nets for the Knights.

Calvin senior Michael Holwerda (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) led
Calvin’s offensive efforts with eight shots at goal while junior Scott Hooker
(Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) was credited with five shots at net.

Friday’s game was the first of a three-game road trip for the Knights who
journey to Olivet next Tuesday for a 4:00 p.m. match.
Received on Fri Sep 25 21:45:50 2009