CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
Volleyball Opens MIAA Play With Home Win Over Albion;
Women's Soccer Opens MIAA Action With Road Win at Trine
VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Albion 0
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin volleyball team started the MIAA season with a 3-0 victory over the Albion Britons. The Knights swept the three sets, 25-7, 25-22, 25-21. Calvin improves to 4-0 on the year and 1-0 in the MIAA, Albion falls for the first time this year to 4-1 overall and 0-1 in MIAA play.
"It is always nice to get a win," said Calvin head coach Amber Warners. "I think we need to work on our consistency and our mentality after we make mistakes. We have to show some more resiliency when a hitter hits the ball into the net instead of being worried. So, we are a team that has great upside, but we have to fix our mistakes. I am really happy with the win; I think the nerves were going a bit with the first home match."
The first set was all Calvin on Wednesday night. The Knights jumped out to an early 9-1 lead on Albion, behind the serve of senior Laura Danhoff (Willard, Ohio/Willard). Calvin would walk away with the set and win, 25-7. The Knights hit .600 during the first set, the highest of any set this season. The Maroon and Gold also dropped six service aces on the Britons in the first set.
"I was pleased with our serving," said Warners. "The thing that doesn't show in the stats is that how many times that we served and it wasn't an ace, but they only had one option to hit the ball. That to me is more important than any other stat. If we can get the other team out of their offensive system, we are going to do very well."
The second set would be much closer than the first. Tied at nine, Albion would go on a 6-1 run to take a 15-10 lead. The Knights would fight back and chip away at the Albion lead until they tied the set at 18. The two teams would exchange the lead until the set was tied at 21. Junior Kristen Vyletel (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) would break the tie with a kill and Calvin would finish the set on a 3-0 run, to win, 25-22.
The Britons would not go away down 2-0. Albion had a 14-10 lead in the third set before the Knights went on a 9-0 run behind the serve of junior Emily Blankespoor (Grand Rapids, Mich./South Christian). Albion would chip away at the Calvin lead and would cut the Knights lead to 22-20, before Calvin would close the set on a 4-1 run to win, 25-21.
Laura Danhoff had a game-high 12 kills for Calvin and hit .632 on Wednesday night. Kristen Vyletel tallied her second kill of her career at Calvin and sophomore Jamie Petrarca (St. John, Ind./Illiana Christian) tied her career-best, with two kills. Junior Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, Ill./Timothy Christian) had a game-high 28 assists. Emily Blankespoor recorded four aces and sophomore Keilahna Castillo (Grandville, Mich./Grandville) had 12 digs.
The Knights return to action on Friday when they travel to Indiana to face Trine. The Maroon and Gold return home on Saturday when the Saint Mary's Belles come to town.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 5, Trine 2
ANGOLA, Ind. - The Calvin women's soccer team opened its 2016 MIAA campaign with a 5-2 victory at Trine University Wednesday afternoon.
The win evens Calvin's season record at 1-1-0.
Senior Brianna Russell (Plainwell, Mich./Delton-Kellogg HS) collected her first collegiate hat-trick to spark the Calvin offensive attack.
Freshman Whitney Koets (Grandville, Mich./Calvin Christian HS) also scored her first collegiate goal for Calvin in the win while senior Allie Corp (Livonia, Mich./Stevenson HS) also scored a goal for the Knights.
Calvin led 2-1 at halftime after Russell scored in the 18th minute and Koets in the 40th minute with Trine scoring a goal with just over a minute left in the first half.
Russell then scored back-to-back goals just before the hour mark, early in the second half to give Calvin a 4-1 advantage.
Trine cut the deficit in half on a goal by Carly Osinski in the 75th minute but but Corp was able to combine with Calvin sophomore Mackenna Nesky (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian HS) in the 82nd minute to put the game away.
"It was good to get a win on the road," said Calvin head women's soccer coach Mark Recker. "Trine has been a difficult team for us to solve with the way they play defense. Scoring the first two goals changed the complexion of the game. We still are a work in progress but this game will give us a nice boost of energy."
Calvin finished the game with a commanding 24-4 shots at goal advantage. Junior Anica Pausma (Tinley Park, Il./Chicago Christian HS) had one save in goal for the Knights to boost her season record to 1-1-0.
Calvin will now prepare for a busy weekend of action in St. Louis, Missouri. The Knights will face Fontbonne University on the campus of Washington University of St. Louis on Friday at 9:30 p.m. and will then turn around to face host Washington University Saturday at 5:30 p.m.
Received on Thu Sep 8 00:24:50 2016
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