CSR (Volleyball Falls to Hope in Five Sets/1986 National Runner-up VBall Team Reunites at VanNoord Arena)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR OCT. 28, 2009

Volleyball Falls to Hope in Five Sets In Front of NCAA III Regular Season
Record Crowd;
1986 National Runner-Up Volleyball Team Reunites at Van Noord Arena/Coach
Wolters Given Honorary Calvin Knight Status

VOLLEYBALL
Hope 3, Calvin 2

By Calvin Sports information student assistant Andrew Knot

After losing the previous match-up at the DeVos Fieldhouse in three sets, the
Knights volleyball squad set out to turn the tables against the fifth ranked
Flying Dutch of Hope College. In that attempt, Calvin had a record crowd
behind them, setting an NCAA III regular season single match attendance record
inside of Calvin’s Van Noord Arena.

The official number of tickets sold was 2725 and even more people than that
had the privilege to see what began as a gem of a match.

In the first set, Calvin and Hope traded points, with the Knights eventually
ahead. But Hope setter Andrea Heminiak served the Dutch back into the match
with an ace to tie things at 17 and then pulling ahead by two points. Calvin
sophomore middle hitter Rebecca Kamp then brought Calvin back into the match
with an attack on a slide from the right side, a block, and a kill from the
middle to shorten Calvin’s deficit to one point and a score of 22-21. Hope
then pulled away, finishing the first set by a score of 25-22.

Calvin responded in the second set, knotting the game at seven and bouncing
back from three consecutive Hope blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Erin Vander
Plas served the Knights to a 12-9 lead, forcing a timeout from Hope’s Coach
Becky Schmidt. Again, Calvin took a lead at the 17-point mark but Hope crept
back in the game, trimming the margin to one point.

Sophomore Kayla Hollenbeck then contributed a kill from the right side.
Fueled by momentum from that kill, the Knights fought for a 25-22 second set
victory of their own, with sophomore Rebecca Kamp emphatically ending the game,
pounding a kill on a slide approach from the right side.

Calvin and Hope then entered the pivotal third game, again trading points with
each team tied at 11 early. Calvin took a 19-15 lead, before Hope battled back
to a 19-18 score, eventually taking a 21-19 lead thanks to some aggressive
serving from Senior libero Kristen Johnson. But Calvin responded from two set
points later in the set in the biggest way. Down, 24-23 and 25-24, Rebecca
Kamp thundered two kills from the middle and outside to tie the set. She then
finished what she started, turning a broken play into a clutch kill from the
middle, giving Calvin a 27-25 victory in the third set.

Up two sets to one, Calvin needed one more set to do something no one in the
MIAA has done this season: beat Hope. However, Hope had other plans, using
scrappy defense and aggressive serving to roll through the fourth set,
defeating Calvin 25-12.

In the fifth and final set, Hope came out with more of the momentum they
exhibited in the fourth set. Getting out to an early 6-3 lead, Calvin
couldn’t claw back. Aggressive serving from Kristen Johnson and Andrea
Helminiak concluded the match anticlimactically, with Hope defeating Calvin
15-6 in the final set.

“We need to learn it doesn’t matter what point in the game it is, we have
to fight,” said Calvin Coach Amber Warners. She continued, “Hope’s
aggressive serving took us out of our offense. Their defense was huge.”

Warners called for more consistency out of her team, but concluded in great
appreciation for the record-setting attendance number.

“Tonight was a great way to celebrate the sport. We really felt support
from the student body, faculty, and staff. It was an electric atmosphere,”
Warners said.

MORE VOLLEYBALL

(editors note: members of the 1986 National runner-up Calvin volleyball team
including head coach Karla Wolters reunite this evening and were recognized in
between sets two and three. During the ceremony, head coach Karla Wolters was
given honorary Calvin Knight status).

For a historical look back on the 1986 team, please visit the Calvin Website
at:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/news/comments/1986-national-runner-up-volleyball-team-reunites-at-calvin-hope-volleyball-/
Received on Wed Oct 28 23:20:51 2009