CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR SEPT. 12, 2012
Volleyball Defeats Alma in Four Sets in Matchup of Unbeaten Teams;
Men's Soccer Stunned by Olivet Comeback in League Opener;
Cross Country Teams Move Up in National Rankings
VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Alma 1
By Mark DeHaan
With an important tournament looming this weekend at Wittenberg University,
the third-ranked Calvin volleyball team had to focus on the task at hand
Wednesday night as it hosted undefeated Alma College. Calvin, undefeated as
well, came into the match with a 7-0 record overall and a 3-0 MIAA record,
while the Scots were 6-0 and 2-0 in conference. The Knights prevailed in four
sets, winning 25-12, 20-25, 25-18, 25-8.
The Knights, showing experience, jumped out to a 6-0 start on a pair of kills
from senior Lizzie Kamp. Kamp continued to make the most of assists from junior
Megan Rietema as she added five more kills throughout the first match. Overall,
Calvin proved to be too much in the opening stanza as the Knights fought their
way to a 25-13 first set win. The Scots were forced into eight errors in the
first set.
Alma fought its way back in the second set as it jumped out to a 10-7 lead.
The Scots continued to hold the lead, forcing the Knights into some
uncharacteristic errors. Showing they would do anything but roll over for the
highly ranked Knights, the Scots took the second set 25-20 to even the match.
In the crucial third set, Calvin struggled to shake the Scots as the set
remained close through the first twenty points. The Knights did not build a
four point lead until 20-16, when Calvin began to pull away. The Knights then
scored five of the next seven points to take the third set 25-18.
In set number four, Calvin restored its first set form as Kamp aided the
Knights to a 13-2 lead with seven kills. Calvin continued its dominating play
throughout the fourth set as the Knights finished off the Scots 25-8.
Kamp paced Calvin on offense with a career-high 25 kills and a hitting
percentage of .523. Senior Julia Hilbrands added 11 kills with a .409
percentage while freshman Maggie Kamp tallied eight. Rietema totaled 50 assists
for the Knights, while senior Kelly Gordon led Calvin with 15 digs, senior Jen
Pluymert added 14 and junior Kristen Zietse tallied 12. The Knights forced Alma
into 22 attack errors throughout the game.
“I was really proud of the way we responded to (the second set). Overall, I
was happy with the way we played the four sets,” said head coach Amber Warners.
“(Lizzie) had a phenomenal night. (Alma) tried changing things up on her, but
she hit it around them every time. But, when somebody does that, you have to
give credit to our back row defense and our setter as well.”
Calvin moves to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA while handing Alma its first
loss of the season at 7-1 and 2-1 in conference. Calvin now looks forward to
the Wittenberg Fall Classic this Friday and Saturday where it will play Ohio
Northern, No. 1 Washington University of Saint Louis, No. 2 Wittenberg, and No.
21 Heidelberg.
MEN’S SOCCER
Olivet 6, Calvin 5
By Mitch Blankespoor
OLIVET - The Calvin men’s soccer team headed to the Cutler Athletic Complex to
face the undefeated Olivet Comets in the conference opener for both teams.� In
a back-and-forth battle, the Knights fell 6-5, putting them 2-2 (0-1 MIAA) on
the young season.
The match started out well for the Knights.� The head of senior Nick Holtrop
(Hudsonville/Unity Christian) found the cross of junior Zach Willis
(Hudsonville/Unity Christian) at the 6:22 mark.� Just four minutes later,
Calvin found the back of the net again.� This time around, another Unity
Christian duo was the culprit.� Sophomore Travis Vegter (Hudsonville/Unity
Christian) broke through the Comet’s defense thanks to a great header from
Willis.� Vegter deked out Olivet’s sophomore keeper Alex Lang, and merely
tapped the ball in the open net.�
15 minutes later, Holtrop scored his second of the day off a throw-in from
sophomore Reed Bowden (Uxbridge, MA/Whitinsville Christian).� The Knights
struck once again when sophomore Sean Broekhuizen (Grand Rapids/South
Christian) ripped a shot from 35 yards.� Lang blocked the shot, but freshmen
Taylor Prius (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) cleaned up an easy rebound.�
Olivet managed a single goal at the 43:30 mark of the first half.
“We looked really good in the first half,” Calvin head coach Ryan Souders
said.� � � “Creative movements created great chances, and we finished those
chances.”
This was enough to put a jump in the Comet’s steps.� Olivet scored the next
five goals, two from Esteban Russell, to take a 6-4 lead.� Holtrop found the
net again to complete his hat-trick, but the Knights could not get over the
hump.
“I don’t think we expected them to make a push as big as they did, but give
them credit,” Souders explained.� We didn’t execute the way we know how to.”
The Knights return to action Friday when they travel to Wheaton to take on the
Thunder.
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
The Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams continue to climb in the
national rankings. In the most recent set of Division III Top 35 rankings
released by the United States Cross Country Coaches Association of America, the
Calvin men’s team is ranked sixth while the Calvin women’s team is ranked
eighth.
In the first poll of the year – released two weeks ago – the Calvin men’s
cross country team was ranked seventh while the Calvin women’s team was ranked
10th.
In addition, the Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams hold the top
spots in their respective Great Lakes Regional polls.
This past weekend, both teams took first place at their own Knight
Invitational with the Calvin men’s team posting a first place total of 30
points and its women’s team collecting a first place score of 34 points.
Both teams are in the process of preparing for the MIAA Jamboree on September
21 at Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana.
USTFCCCA DIVISION III NATIONAL/REGIONAL POLLS (9-12-12):
http://www.ustfccca.org/2012/09/featured/diii-national-cross-country-coaches-poll-2012-week-1
Received on Wed Sep 12 23:17:01 2012
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