CKSR (Volleyball Sweeps Hope on the Road/Men's Soccer Defeats Hope 2-1/Women's Soccer Ties Saint Mary's 1-1)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR OCT. 20, 2012

Volleyball Sweeps Hope To Take Command of MIAA Race;
Men's Soccer Defeats Hope 2-1 - Remains Atop MIAA Standings;
Women's Soccer Ties Saint Mary's 1-1

VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Hope 0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-18)
By Mitch Blankespoor

HOLLAND – The Calvin College volleyball team traveled to DeVos Fieldhouse in
search of its fifth sixth straight victory over Hope College. The Knights
defeated Hope 3-0 by scores of 25-22, 25-21, 25-18, giving Calvin its first
three set victory at the DeVos Fieldhouse since its opening in 2006.
The first set was close for the duration. Calvin took a 15-12 lead on a
couple of Hope attack errors forcing Hope head coach Becky Schmidt to call
timeout. The timeout proved effective, as Hope went on the win the next four
points. This forced Calvin head coach Amber Warners to call timeout. After
trading side outs, two Lizzie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian) kills
gave the Knights a 23-20 lead. Another Schmidt timeout could not stop Calvin,
and the Knights took the first set 25-22.
Calvin hit a .278 clip in the first set. Hope hit a mere .185.
Calvin started out set number two with six straight points. The Flying Dutch
did not fold without a fight. Three straight attack errors by Calvin forced a
timeout call from Warners. Using several kills from Lizzie Kamp and Emily
Crowe (Granger, IN/Mishawaka Penn), Calvin built a seven-point lead. Hope got
within three points, but a double block by Lizzie Kamp and Rebecca Ratkov (New
Baltimore/Anchor Bay) gave the Knights the second set victory 25-21.
Both teams hit worse in the second set. Calvin hit .195 while Hope hit .132.
The third set started much like the second. Kills by Ratkov and Lizzie Kamp
gave the Knights a 13-8 lead, forcing a timeout call from Schmidt. This time,
Calvin did not step its foot off the gas pedal. Five of the last six points of
the set came from Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian) kills.
Lizzie and Maggie Kamp led the way on offense for Calvin scoring 18 and 13
kills respectively. Setter Megan Rietema (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian)
dished out 37 assists while recording a team high 16 digs. Ratkov and Crowe
each had four block assists. Jenna Grasmeyer led Hope in defeat with 11 kills.
 Setter Greer Bratschie dished out 27 assists.
Calvin recorded nine blocks as a team. Hope had six in the match. Calvin hit
a .278 clip while holding Hope to .185 on the match.
“Both teams play national caliber volleyball, Warners said after the match.
“Either team can win on any given day. There were times that Hope put
together several points against us, but we fought back.”
This win elevates Calvin to 23-2 (13-0 MIAA) on the season. Hope falls to
24-3 (12-2 MIAA).
Calvin returns to action Wednesday, October 24, when it hosts the Trine
Thunder.

MEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 2, Hope 1
By Mark DeHaan

On a fall day made for soccer, the more than 1500 fans that showed up for the
Calvin-Hope game were in for a hard-fought, tooth and nail fight between two
long-time rivals. Calvin, on a second-half goal from senior Joe Broekhuizen,
took the win 2-1 over the Flying Dutchmen.

Hope, looking to avenge its 1-0 loss to Calvin at home earlier this year, had
the best chances on net early on. The Flying Dutchmen's first opportunity came
in the 9th minute as forward Jonathan DeVries put a shot toward net that
deflected off the post and out.

Despite Hope's early chances, Calvin got onto the board first on a goal from
sophomore Travis Vegter. A ball from the Calvin backline found the feet of
senior Nick Holtrop. Holtrop, dribbling down to the end line, sent a low cross
into the middle where Vegter came streaking in and tapped it into the back of
the net to take the 1-0 lead.

Less than ten minutes later, Hope equalized on a deep free kick by Grant Neil
from about midfield. As the ball made its way into the box, Calvin senior
keeper Jared Rushlau jumped up to grab the ball. In a scrum of players, Rushlau
lost control of the ball as it bounced into the net.

In the 45th minute, Hope almost took the lead as a deep shot from forward
Jason Muller hit the crossbar and went over the net.

Hope held a 7-6 shots advantage in the first half. Hope was also called for 11
fouls to Calvin's six.
Out of the break, some strong play from junior Zach Willis and freshman Taylor
Pruis gave the Knights a number of opportunities. Calvin could not capitalize,
however, and the game became increasingly tense and chippy.

In the 67th minute, senior Joe Broekhuizen put the Knights ahead for good as
he headed a ball into the bottom right corner of the net off a Nick Holtrop
free kick for a 2-1 Calvin advantage. The Knights back line played strong
defense the remainder of the way as the Calvin earned a 2-1 win.

Calvin built a 15-13 shots advantage in the game as well as a 5-2 corner kicks
advantage. Hope was called for 27 fouls in the game, while the Knights were
called for 14. Rushlau earned the win in net for the Knights, making two saves
in ninety minutes of play.

“This is a big win for us. It's a big win because it’s in front of a big
crowd, it's a big win because it’s against Hope, it's a big win because it puts
us where we want to be in front of conference – it's a big win on every level,”
said head coach Ryan Souders, 2-0 against Hope in his first year at the helm
for Calvin. “I thought our guys played really well today. We stayed composed,
primarily, despite the hectic atmosphere. I'm really proud of our guys.”

Calvin moves to 10-1 in the MIAA and 11-3 overall while Hope falls to 7-4 in
conference and 10-6 overall. The Knights now look forward to Wednesday when
they will host the Hornets of Kalamazoo.

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 1, Saint Mary’s 1
By Mark DeHaan

Calvin women's soccer looked to stay atop the MIAA as it hosted the Belles of
Saint Mary's Saturday afternoon. With a 1-1 tie between Hope and Adrian earlier
in the day, the Knights did just that as it played to a dominating, yet
somewhat disappointing, 1-1 draw against Saint Mary's.

Saint Mary's had the first strong opportunity of the game as some
miscommunication between the Calvin defense and junior keeper Ashton Hearn gave
Ashley Morfin a wide open shot on net. After slipping on the wet field, Hearn
recovered enough to get a hand on the Morfin shot. The shot, still headed to
the back of the net, was then kicked off the goal line by freshman Jamie Verbal
who came from the far side to keep the game scoreless.

Calvin had a great chance of its own just minutes later as freshman Paige
Capel found herself wide open in the middle of the box. Shooting with her left
foot, Capel mishit the ball and it went straight toward the Belles' keeper to
again keep the scoreboard reading 0-0.

Despite a 7-1 shots advantage in favor of the Knights, Calvin was unable to
put any strong chances on frame.

In the second half, it looked like another late goal would be in order as
Calvin continued to put their best chances wide or at the keeper.

Then, in the 80th minute, freshman Taylor TenHarmsel put the Knights up on a
head ball off a corner kick from senior Liz Cancel. The goal was the fifth in
four games for the freshman.

But, with time ticking away, Saint Mary's came up with a clutch goal.

With under a minute remaining, the Belles earned a corner kick. The kick was
placed into the box, and the ball, bouncing around, found the back of the net
as the Knights were unable to clear it and the Belles tied the game at 1-1.

Calvin held an 18-6 shots advantage and an 8-2 corner kick advantage as the
teams headed into halftime.

The Knights continued their dominance throughout the overtime periods,
outshooting the Belles 5-3 and forcing the Saint Mary's keeper into three
saves. Calvin could not capitalize, however, and the Knights played the Belles
to a 1-1 draw.

Saint Mary's keeper Chanler Rosenbaum made eight saves in the game. Hearn made
three saves for the Knights. Calvin built a 23-9 shots advantage over the
course of the game and an 11-2 corner kick advantage.

“Obviously efficiency continues to be a problem for us,” said head coach Mark
Recker. “We can move the ball, we can get opportunities, we put a number on
frame, and their goalie just came up big a couple times.”

Calvin still sits two points ahead of Hope in the MIAA as Hope also played to
a draw today against Adrian. The Knights are now 9-2-1 in conference and 10-3-1
overall while Saint Mary's moves to 11-3-2 overall and 8-3-1 in the MIAA.
Calvin now looks forward to Tuesday when it will travel to Albion to take on
the Britons. The game is slated to start at 4 p.m.
Received on Sat Oct 20 19:05:58 2012