CKSR (Volleyball Sweeps Adrian - Sets Up Saturday Showdown at Hope)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Volleyball Sweeps Adrian - Sets Up Saturday Showdown at Hope

VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Adrian 0
By Mark DeHaan
Calvin volleyball hosted the Bulldogs of Adrian for a Friday night MIAA contest at Van Noord Arena. The Knights, ranked fourth in the country in the latest Division III poll, entered undefeated in conference at 4-0 and 12-2 overall while the Bulldogs were 2-3 in league play and 8-6 overall.
Despite being pushed early in all three sets, Calvin swept Adrian 25-16, 25-17, 25-19 to stay undefeated in the MIAA.
In the first set, Calvin jumped out to an early 6-2 lead behind three kills from senior Ellie Diepersloot (Madera, CA/Chowchilla HS). The Bulldogs rallied to draw within two at 8-6, but from that point on, the Knights began to slowly pull away. Another kill from Diepersloot put Calvin up 13-8, and moments later, two straight kills from junior Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS) gave the Knights a 19-13 lead.
Sophomore Laura Danhoff (Willard, OH/Willard HS) then finished the set with a kill of her own to give Calvin a first set victory by a score of 25-16.
In set two, the Bulldogs led early. After winning the first two points, Calvin gave up five straight to fall behind 5-2. The Knights slowly chipped away, and behind two service aces and a kill from Danhoff, reclaimed the lead at 11-10.
Two points from Adrian gave the lead back to the Bulldogs, but Calvin responded with seven straight points to go ahead 17-12. The Knights cruised from there, and on a block by Danhoff and freshman Tessa Van Laare (Toronto, ON/Toronto District Christian HS), took set two 25-17.
In the final set, the Knights earned a 7-2 lead out of the break. An 8-4 response by the Bulldogs then cut Calvin's lead to one, but a well-timed timeout allowed the Knights to regather. A 6-2 run by Calvin, including three straight kills from senior Emily Crowe (Granger, IN/Mishawawka Penn HS), put the Knights ahead 17-13. Calvin then held the six-point advantage for the remainder of the set, sweeping the Bulldogs by claiming set three 25-19.
As a team, Calvin hit .220 against a tough Adrian defense that totaled nine blocks. The Knights had six services aces on the night, but also struggled with 10 services errors.
Individually, Kamp led the Knights with 15 kills while Crowe had nine, Danhoff eight, and Diepersloot seven. Senior Elise Biesboer (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) led Calvin defensively with 20 digs while freshman setter Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, IL/Timothy Christian HS) tallied 31 assists.
"What I really liked tonight was our mentality. I thought we came in ready to fight and were confident, and when we had a couple lulls, we had people step it up at different times and that's something we've been looking for," said head coach Amber Warners. "We have to read the block as hitters a little better. I thought our passing was right on tonight, and usually we're firing on all cylinders when that happens, so it's something the hitters have to learn."
With the win, the Knights improve to 13-2 and 5-0 while Adrian falls to 8-7 and 2-4. Calvin has a quick turnaround as it travels to Hope College tomorrow to face the Flying Dutch, the top-ranked team in the country.
"We need to come in and be ready to play every point and be confident (against Hope)," said Warners. "We have to have a short memory when we don't do something right and put serves in aggressively."
First serve for Saturday's contest is 2:00 p.m.
Received on Fri Sep 19 22:20:57 2014