CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR OCTOBER 7, 2011
Amber Warners Picks Up Win #300 In Match at Albion;
Women's Golf In Fourth Place Through Day One of MIAA Tournament;
Men's and Women's Cross Country Teams Compete at Michigan Intercollegiates
VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Albion 0 (25-8, 25-15, 25-14)
(Written by sports information student assistant Mitch Blankespoor)
ALBION, MI – Calvin head coach Amber Warners walked into Albion College’s
Kresge Gymnasium Friday evening with 299 career collegiate coaching victories.
Behind the play of her top-ranked Knights, she was able to walk off with number
300 as Calvin defeated Albion in straight sets by scores of 25-8, 25-15, 25-14.
A 1990 Calvin College graduate, Warners is now 300-67 as a collegiate coach
which includes 10 seasons at Calvin College and one season at Hope College.
Heading into the 2011 season, Warners was ranked fourth among active NCAA III
women’s volleyball coaches in terms of winning percentage
Calvin got out to early leads in all three sets, and never looked back. The
Knights hit a blistering .344 as a team while holding the Britons to -.094.
Calvin served a team high 14 service aces. Juniors Lizzie Kamp (Chicago
Christian HS) and Jen Pluymert (Grand Rapids Christian HS) led the Knights with
three aces apiece.
“People don’t realize that a service error isn’t always a bad thing. At our
level, a weak serve results in the ball getting pounded back into our faces.
We really stress serving aggressively. We did that tonight.” Warners said
after the match.
The Knights did a masterful job of spreading the ball around. Six Knights had
either four or five kills. Sophomore setter Megan Rietema (Grand Rapids
Christian HS) dished out 22 assists.
“Everyone got set in the front row. I thought Megan (Rietema) did a great job
spreading the ball around.” Warners commented.
Lizzie Kamp and freshmen Emily Crowe (Mishawaka Penn HS) led Calvin scoring
five kills apiece. Freshmen Ellie Diepersloot (Chowcilla HS) added four kills
of her own. Senior Erin Vander Plas (Northern Michigan Christian HS) hit an
.800 clip with four kills and a service ace.
“It is both a privilege and blessing to play for Coach Warners. She treats all
of her players like daughters. It’s awesome to see her get to 300 wins. She
deserves some individual recognition for everything she does.” Vander Plas
reflected after the match.
Another senior to record four kills was Renee DeHaan (Grand Rapids Christian
HS). She hit a .667 clip as well as recording two block assists in the match.
“It’s an honor to play under Coach Warners. She has great intentions for her
players, coaching staff, and the program.” DeHaan commented.
The final senior to record four kills for Calvin was Rebecca Kamp (Chicago
Christian HS). The three time All-American had two service aces and two block
assists in the match.
“I have been very blessed to play for Coach Warners for the last three and a
half years.” Kamp said. “I’m so proud of her for getting to 300 wins in as
little time as she did.”
Senior Kelly Peterson recorded two digs in the match.
“Amber’s strength is incorporating her faith into her coaching as well as being
personable to each and every player she coaches.” Peterson reflected. “ She
deserves each win. I’m honored to be a part of many of those wins.”
A big part of Amber Warners’ success is Calvin assistant coach Laura Bindon.
She played her senior season for Warners in 2002.
“I knew she had huge potential to lead this program great places. Her vision
was great, and you could see that she had all the skills and knowledge to make
that vision a reality. You couldn’t help but to buy in to it,” said Bindon who
has been an assistant under Warners for the last nine years.
“I can’t believe I have been coaching with Amber for nine years,” said Bindon.
“It’s been unbelievable. Her 300th career win is a tribute to the culture of
hard work she has created.”As for Amber Warners herself, she put things into perspective nicely.
“I’m extremely grateful to every player I have coached. It’s their reward.
They are the ones that play. This accolade speaks volumes to the players we
have had at Calvin over the past 10 years, on and off the court. It is my hope
that the impact I would have on them as people is much greater than the impact
I’ve had on them in their victories on the court.”
Calvin (17-0, 9-0 MIAA) will play host to the St. Mary’s College Belles
Saturday at noon.
WOMEN'S GOLF
BATTLE CREEK - Calvin opened play at the two-day MIAA Tournament with a team
score of 353 strokes which is good for fourth place through one day of
competition. The MIAA Tournament is being held at a neutral site course - the
Bedford Valley Country Club.
The Knights also remain in fourth place in the overall team standings.
Sophomore Carlia Canto (Marysville/Port Huron Northern HS) led the way for
Calvin with an 81, good for a tie for fifth place individually while junior
Elise Doezema (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) had an 84 to finish
ninth. Rounding out Calvin's finishers were freshman Jackie Richert (Fort
Gratiot/Port Huron Northern HS) with a 91, freshman Laura Richert (Fort
Gratiot/Port Huron Northern HS) with a 97 and junior Rachel Whitaker (Grand
Rapids/Forest Hills Northern HS) with a 104.
Canto is now eighth in the seasonal MIAA indvidual standings while Doezema is
11th.
Olivet had the top team score on Friday at 325 while Hope was second at 334 and
Saint Mary's third at 337. In finishing nine strokes ahead of Hope on Friday,
Olivet moved to within six strokes of first place. Hope continues to hold the
team lead heading into Saturday's final round. Theresa Damico of Olivet and
Natalie Matuzak shared the top score on Friday with rounds of 77.
Action picks up again on Saturday at 9 a.m.
MIAA TOURNAMENT DAY ONE SCORES
Olivet 325
Hope 334
Saint Mary's 337
Calvin 353
Alma 363
Adrian 366
Albion 368
Trine 374
Kalamazoo 395
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
HILLSDALE - The Calvin men's and women's cross country teams competed at the
Michigan Intercollegiates on Friday at the Hayden Park cross country course on
the campus of Hillsdale College. The competition included teams from around the
state of Michigan from the NCAA Division I, II and III ranks as well as the
NAIA level.
On the men's side, Calvin chose not to run its top group in order to prepare
for the Wisconsin-Oshkosh pre-national meet next Saturday. Neverthless, the
Knights still managed to finish fourth in the small college division behind
Wayne State, Grand Valley State and host Hillsdale with a total of 148 points.
Calvin's top runner was junior Kevin Peterson with a time of 26:53 on the 8K
course. Sophomore Sam Kerk was Calvin's next finisher, placing 18th in a time
of 27:04. Next for Calvin was senior Alex Wrobel in 40th (27:31), junior Alex
Van Haitsma in 42nd (27:34) and junior Gabe Gunnink in 45th (27:44). Rounding
out Calvin's top seven were freshman Jacob Kuyvenhoven in 48th (27:50) and
sophomore Philip Spitzer in 62nd (28:12).
In the women's 5K race, Calvin took second in the small college division with
79 points with Saginaw Valley State winning with 62 points. Calvin also chose
not to run all of its top seven on Friday with the Wisconsin-Oshkoh
pre-national race looming next week.
Calvin did run its top two runners in senior Jodi Hoekstra and junior Alyssa
Penning and both individuals flahsed fine form with Hoekstra taking second
(18:22) and Penning third (18:28). Senior Samantha Westveer was Calvin's third
finisher, placing 19th (19:32) while junior Kaylea Brase was 27th (19:54) and
freshman Lizzy Vannette 28th (19:54). Rounding out Calvin's top seven were
senior Eva Kort in 36th (20:09) and freshman Paige McGahan in 40th (20:10).
Next week's Wisconsin-Oshkosh pre-national competition is slated to begin at 11
a.m. (CST).
MICHIGAN INTERCOLLEGIATES MEN'S RESULTS:
http://www.hillsdalesites.oMICHIGAN INTERCOLLEGIATES WOMEN'S RESULTS:
http://www.hillsdalesites.org/chargers/crosscountry/2011/women10711.pdf
Received on Fri Oct 7 22:51:33 2011
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