CKSR (Men's Soccer Holds on For 4-3 Win at Olivet/Volleyball Remains Unbeaten With Sweep at Kzoo)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR OCT. 1, 2013

Men's Soccer Holds on For 4-3 Win at Olivet;
Volleyball Remains Unbeaten - Sweeps Kalamazoo

MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 4, Olivet 3

By Mark DeHaan

OLIVET - The Calvin men's soccer team traveled to Olivet Tuesday afternoon for a conference matchup with the Comets. After a rather routine first half and a 1-0 Calvin lead at the break, three goals apiece for either squad in the second half provided fireworks and a lot of excitement, with the Knights holding on for a 4-3 road victory.

The Knights controlled possession much of the first half, outshooting Olivet 12-6.

Sophomore Sam Hanover gave Calvin the lead in the 24th minute. Controlling a pass from junior Sean Broekhuizen, Hanover touched the ball over to his left foot, and from the center of the box, slotted the ball into the lower right corner of the net for a 1-0 Calvin lead.

The Knights took the 1-0 lead into the break.

After halftime, Calvin took a commanding 3-0 lead in a matter of minutes. In the 47th minute, senior Ben Honeycutt found Sean Broekhuizen on the back post for a header which gave the Knights a 2-0 lead.

In the 49th minute, a breakdown in the Olivet defense allowed junior Travis Vegter to find senior Zach Willis in front of the goal. Willis received the pass and put the ball into the lower right corner of the net for a 3-0 Calvin advantage.

But, Olivet was not to be discounted.

Connor Plagens scored a goal in the 63rd minute and Adam Wright added a penalty kick goal in the 78th minute to cut the Calvin lead to 3-2. Looking to tie the game up, Olivet sent another player forward off its back line, leaving three defenders.

The extra space is just what Calvin needed. In the 87th minute, freshman Stephan Hooker won a ball in the midfield and sent it forward for Vegter. Vegter, making his way past the central defender, ripped a shot from the top of the box and into the goal for his 13th of the season and 4-2 Knights lead.

Still not out of the game, Olivet scored a third goal in the 90th minute as Wright got open in the middle of the box for his second of the game.

Calvin held off the Comets for the remainder of the final minute, claiming a hectic 4-3 win on the road.

"This is a really tough place for us to play," said head coach Ryan Souders. "Hectic is the best way to describe it, maybe even weird, but I prefer weird with three points. We kind of bled into the finish but we also played some really good soccer at times. We just have to stay disciplined. Olivet is a good team, they're probably going to be there at the end in conference, but I'm just glad to walk away with three points."

Calvin stays undefeated in conference with the win, now 4-0-0 while moving to 5-3-0 overall. Olivet drops to 3-6-1 and 1-3-0 in the MIAA. The Knights now look forward to Saturday when they will host the Hornets of Kalamazoo for a 2:30 p.m. contest.

MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-1-13

Calvin 4-0-0
Hope 3-1-0
Adrian 2-2-0
Albion 2-2-0
Alma 2-2-0
Kalamazoo 2-2-0
Olivet 1-3-0
Trine 0-4-0

VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO - The top-ranked Calvin women's volleyball team improved to 16-0 overall and to 8-0 in the MIAA with a 25-13, 25-21, 25-18 win at Kalamazoo Tuesday night.

Calvin breezed through set one, hitting at a .485 clip but then ran into a stubborn-minded Kalamazoo squad in set two as the Hornets led 15-12. Calvin rallied to go up 20-16 but a 5-2 Kalamazoo run allowed the Hornets to creep to within a point at 22-21. Calvin claimed the next three points however - two of which came on kills by sophomore Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS).

In set three, Calvin jumped out to a 9-1 lead and never looked back.

Maggie Kamp led Calvin offensively with 17 kills and eight digs while junior Ellie Diepersloot (Madera, CA/Chowchilla HS) had 10 kills and a match-high hitting percentage of .692. Senior Kristen Zietse (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) had 17 digs while freshman Laura Danhoff (Willard, OH/Willard HS) had six kills and a pair of service aces.

Senior setter Megan Rietema (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was once again the fulcrum of the Calvin offense with 36 assists to go with eight digs.

Calvin will now prepare to travel to Albion on Friday for a 6:30 p.m. match.

MIAA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 10-1-13

Calvin 8-0
Hope 7-1
Alma 4-4
Kalamazoo 4-4
Olivet 4-4
Trine 4-4
Saint Mary's 3-5
Adrian 1-7
Albion 1-7
Received on Tue Oct 1 22:45:06 2013