CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR JUNE 28, 2015
Volleyball Announces Ambitious 2015 Schedule
The Calvin women's volleyball team has announced its upcoming 2015 schedule. The schedule is one of the most ambitious in program history as it includes eight opponents that were ranked in the final 2014 AVCA Division III Top 25 poll including three opponents that were in the national quarterfinal round and two that played in the NCAA III Championship final.
Several of the nationally-ranked opponents will be coming to Calvin's Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex.
Calvin will be opening its season with a Labor Day weekend invitational September 4 and 5 with matches slated to be played inside Van Noord Arena and Hoogenboom Gymnasium. Calvin will open the tournament with a 1 p.m. match against regional opponent Defiance College September 4 and will then take on 2014 Division III National Runner-up and second-ranked Emory University that night at 7 p.m.
On September 5, Calvin will take on Pacific Lutheran at 10 a.m. Pacific Lutheran was ranked 22nd in the final 2014 AVCA Division III Top 25 poll. Calvin will then meet regional foe Thomas More at 3:30 p.m.
On September 9, Calvin will open its MIAA schedule with a road match at St. Mary's College (Ind.). Calvin will host rival and defending national champion Hope on Saturday, September 12 at 7 p.m. On October 14, The Knights will make the return trip to Hope for a 6 p.m. match. That match will be part of a doubleheader of Calvin-Hope fall sports action as the Calvin men's soccer team will be at Hope's VanAndel Stadium for an 8 p.m. match.
In mid-September, the Calvin volleyball team will travel to Atlanta, Georgia, to participate in the Emory National Invitational. While there, Calvin will take on Emory for the second time in two weeks, facing the host Eagles on September 19. On September 18, Calvin will open the tournament against Franklin and Marshall and will then take on a Washington University (Mo.) team that was ranked sixth in the final 2014 AVCA Division III national poll.
After its September 19 match against host Emory at 10 a.m. Calvin will take on Cal Lutheran University at 4 p.m. in a meeting of the 2013 NCAA III Championship final. Cal Lutheran was ranked eighth in the final 2014 AVCA Division III Top 25 poll.
On September 25, Calvin will participate in a triangular at Alma, taking on Alma in a conference match at 3 p.m. and regional foe Heidelberg at 5 p.m.
On October 16 and 17, Calvin will host the prestigious Midwest Invitational and will face three nationally-ranked opponents in the tournament. Calvin will open the tournament on October 16 against regional opponent Bluffton University at 2:30 p.m. and will then face long-time regional rival Wittenberg later that evening at 7 p.m. Wittenberg was ranked fifth in last year's final national poll. The Knights will then turn around the following morning to take on Clarkson University at 10 a.m. Like Calvin, Clarkson reached the 2014 NCAA III quarterfinals. Calvin and Clarkson met earlier in the year with the Knights prevailing in a five-set thriller. Clarkson finished 14th in the final 2014 AVCA Division III Top 25 poll. Calvin will complete its play in the Midwest Invitational on October 17 with a 2 p.m. match against an Eastern University team that was ranked 13th in the final 2014 national poll.
Calvin is also scheduled to host the NCAA III Championship finals November 20-22 with quarterfinal action set for November 20, semifinal competition scheduled for November 21 and the national championship final slated for November 22. All seven of the matches that weekend will be played inside Van Noord Arena.
"If you are a fan of great collegiate women's volleyball, the Spoelhof Fieldhouse Complex will be the place to be this fall," said Calvin head volleyball coach Amber Warners. "We are very excited to be hosting an incredible collection of national caliber teams while also having the opportunity to make an exciting trip down to Atlanta, Georgia."
Calvin finished the 2014 season with an overall record of 31-4, capturing a share of the MIAA regular season title. The Knights also claimed the 2014 MIAA Tournament title along with an NCAA III Regional crown before eventually falling in the semifinals of the NCAA III Tournament in Newport News, Virginia.
Ranked third in the final 2014 AVCA Division III Top 25 poll, Calvin returns a large group of letterwinners from its 2014 squad. Included in the list of returning players is first team Division III AVCA All-American Maggie Kamp, second team Division III AVCA All-American Laura Danhoff and third team Division III AVCA All-American. Maggie Kamp was also the 2014 AVCA Division III National Player of the Year while Jenna Lodewyk was the 2014 AVCA Division III National Freshman of the Year.
"We have a strong group of returning veterans but we will also have several younger players who could play key roles," said Warners. "We designed our schedule to give our players as much experience against as many nationally-ranked opponents as possible. Our league also continues to get better and better. Combined with our conference and our non-conference schedule, I expect our team to face as challenging a schedule as we have ever seen but we are looking forward to it."
CALVIN VOLLEYBALL 2015 SCHEDULE: http://calvinknights.com/sports/wvball/2015-16/schedule
CALVIN LABOR DAY TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: http://calvinknights.com/sports/wvball/2015-16/Calvin_Labor_Day_Invite
CALVIN MIDWEST INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE: http://calvinknights.com/sports/wvball/2015-16/Midwest_Invitational_2015
Received on Sun Jun 28 23:13:40 2015
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Sun Jun 28 2015 - 23:13:40 EDT