CKSR (Volleyball Rolls To Wins at Midwest Invite – Defeats 10th-ranked Carthage)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR OCTOBER 14, 2011

Volleyball Rolls To Wins at Midwest Invite – Defeats 10th-ranked Carthage

VOLLEYBALL
MATCH TWO
Calvin 3, Carthage 0 (25-9, 25-20, 25-13)

(By sports information student assistant Andrew Knot)

In a matchup of nationally ranked squads at the Midwest Invitational, the
top-ranked and undefeated Knights defeated the tenth-ranked Lady Reds of
Carthage.

The Knights are now 21-0 this year and 4-0 against nationally-ranked opponents
this year. Calvin hit .420 as a team and received huge performances from senior
Erin VanderPlas, senior Rebecca Kamp and junior Lizzie Kamp. VanderPlas had 13
kills and a .600 hitting percentage. Rebecca Kamp had 11 kills and five block
assists while Lizzie Kamp had a match-high 14 kills to go with a .480 hitting
percentage. Sophomore Megan Rietema was also superb with 46 assists along with
four block assists
The Knights opened the first set strong. Junior Lizzie Kamp took a hard angle
on two cutting attacks to give the Knights a 10-4 advantage. Senior Erin
Vander Plas then swung hard off the block and senior Kelly Peterson contributed
another ace to bring the score to 21-9, forcing a Carthage timeout. From
there, the Knights rolled to a convincing 25-9 set one victory.
The second set proved to be far more competitive. Senior Kelly Gordon
reinforced a terrific fantastic match with a point-saving pancake in the set’s
early stages. Sophomore Megan Rietema closed out the point with a put-down on
the second contact to give the Knights an early lead. Senior Renee DeHaan then
provided the Knights some breathing room with an attack up the middle to
capture a 20-16 lead. Vander Plas and DeHaan then partnered for a team block
to give Calvin a five point lead. Vander Plas closed out the set with a
shallow tip, giving the Knights a 25-20 victory.
The Lady Reds owned an early lead for portions of the third set, but Calvin
demonstrated resiliency to regain a 12-9 lead after Lizzie Kamp slammed a block
over the triple block in the middle. Junior Julia Hilbrands recorded a tip to
give Calvin a five point advantage and junior Jen Pluymert propelled Calvin to
a 23-12 advantage thanks to multiple aces and a lengthy serving run. Vander
Plas added two authoritative kills and Lizzie Kamp pushed a tip down the line
to secure a 25-13 victory and a three-set sweep.
The straight set win gave impressed Coach Amber Warners.
“I think we played our best match all year. Tonight set the tone for how we
want to play the rest of the year,” said Warners.
The victory improved Calvin’s unblemished record to 21-0. The Knights
continue tournament play at 10 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. tomorrow.

MATCH ONE
Calvin 3, St. Benedict 0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-18)

By Sports Information Student Assistant Derek Neice
Playing in the first match of the 2011 Midwest Invitational, the top-ranked
Knights continued their unbeaten season with a three set victory over a feisty
squad from St. Benedict, winning by scores of 25-12, 25-22, and 25-18.
The Knights had a solid performance from the front lines in converting 38 of
89 hit attempts (.303 hit percentage) and racking up 11 total blocks for the
match to St. Benedict’s 3. Senior Rebecca Kamp led the Knights with 12 kills,
followed by fellow senior Erin Vanderplas who totaled 8 kills. Senior Renee
DeHaan and junior Lizzie Kamp both added 7 kills each from the attack as well.
“We hit very solid in this match, and we did a nice job when sets weren’t
quite where they needed to be,” Calvin coach Amber Warners said in the postgame
radio interview.
The edge for the match came from the service line, where Calvin managed to
accumulate a whopping ten service aces with only 6 errors.
“We did a great job with reducing our service errors today, something we’ve
been working on lately,” Warners said. “Our goal has been to keep a one to one
ratio of aces and errors, so today we did very well.”
Calvin breezed through the first set 25-12 and ran out to a 15-8 lead in the
second before running into a little bit of trouble. St. Benedict worked back
to tie the set at 17-17, and again later at 22-22. Calvin then ran off three
points in a row to win the set, including two straight service aces to clinch
from sophomore Kristi Zietse.
In the third set, St. Benedict hung around again as Calvin led only 13-12
midway through the set and 22-18 near the end. Another pair of service aces,
this time from senior Kelly Gordon, iced the match for the Knights.
 
Received on Fri Oct 14 23:00:21 2011