CKSR (Men's Soccer Comes From Behind to Claim Win at Albion / Volleyball Wraps Up Share of MIAA Crown / Van Harn Named MIAA Women's Swimmer of the Week)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR OCTOBER 25, 2016

Men's Soccer Claims Come-From-Behind Win at Albion;
Volleyball Clinches Share of MIAA Regular Season Title;
Van Harn Named MIAA Women's Swimmer of the Week

MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 4, Albion 1

ALBION, Mich. - The Calvin men's soccer team found a way to weather a first half storm by the Albion Britons to claim a 4-1 conference victory on the road Wednesday night.

With Albion fiercely fighting for one of the final MIAA Tournament playoff spots, Calvin faced a team full of energy and determination.

Albion (8-9-0 overall, 7-6-0 MIAA) used that energy to draw first blood, scoring 15 minutes into the match as Erik Vanfossen was able to run onto a well-placed pass from teammate Bobby Budlong and slip a shot past Calvin goalkeeper Nate Van Ryn (Grandville, Mich./Calvin Christian HS).

The Vanfossen goal came moments after the Knights had peppered the Albion goal with a trio of shots including a shot by sophomore Bobby McCaw (Dubuque, Ia./Hempstead HS) that rang the woodwork.

Calvin freshman Hunter Olson (Canton, Mich./Canton HS) nearly tied the game with a shot inside the final five minutes of the first half but his attempt was cleared by an Albion defender just short of the goalline.

In the second half, Calvin was not to be denied as McCaw broke free for a pair of goals that gave the Knights a 2-1 advantage.

McCaw's first goal came in the 57th minute on a flick over Albion goalkeeper Justin Kraft. McCaw's equalizer came off a feed from junior Matt Hinds (Frankenmuth, Mich./Frankenmuth HS).

McCaw's go-ahead goal came in the 70th minute after junior Mitch Stark (South Lyon, Mich./South Lyon HS) beat a defender up the left wing and squared a pass into the box that McCaw smashed home. The go-ahead goal was McCaw's eighth goal of the season.

Hinds then got into the scoring act two minutes later on a combination play with freshman Ben Mast (Grand Haven, Mich./Spring Lake HS). On the play, Mast was able to hold the ball under pressure and then connect with Hinds for an insurance goal.

Calvin put the capper on the comeback with a goal by junior Micah Beard (Otsego, Mich./Otsego HS) with 1:22 remaining. Stark chalked up an assist on the play - his 11th of the season and the 31st of his career. Stark is now tied with Doug DeSmit for fourth place on the Calvin career list for assists.

Ranked 20th nationally, Calvin (15-2-0 overall, 12-1-0 MIAA) finished the match with a 14-6 shots at goal advantage including a 9-2 edge in the second half. Van Ryn had three saves in net for the Knights in goal.

"This was a huge team win on the road against a very good Albion team," said Calvin men's soccer coach Ryan Souders. "Our guys answered well to the adversity of falling behind early with a great second half. The comeback was something that our players did together which was exciting to see. I am really proud of this entire group and of the final result."

Calvin will close out the MIAA regular season on Saturday, hosting Trine at 2:30 p.m. at Zuidema Field. As MIAA regular season champions, the Knights have gained the top seed for the four-team MIAA Tournament and will also host an MIAA Tournament semifinal game at 3 p.m. on November 3. Calvin will face either Albion or Kalamazoo in the MIAA Tournament semifinal. Albion and Kalamazoo are tied for fourth place in the MIAA standings and face each other in a regular season finale Saturday at Kalamazoo. Adrian and Alma have already secured the other two MIAA Tournament slots.

MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-25-16

Calvin 12-1-0
Adrian 9-4-0
Alma 8-4-1
Kalamazoo 6-4-3
Albion 7-6-0
Olivet 3-8-2
Hope 3-9-1
Trine 0-12-1

VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Alma 0

By Gina de Haan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- On Tuesday evening, the No. 1 ranked Calvin women's volleyball team welcomed the Alma College Scots to Van Noord Arena for the first of its three home matches in the final week of the MIAA regular season.
The Knights entered the contest on top of the MIAA with a 13-0 conference record and a 23-0 overall mark, while the Scots came into the match 7-7 in MIAA and 12-13 overall. Sitting in fifth place in the conference, Alma could still remain in contention for one of the four MIAA Tournament spots with a victory over the Knights.
However, the Knights maintained their unblemished record and knocked the Scots out of MIAA postseason contention with a 25-14, 25-18, 25-15 sweep. With this victory, the Knights clinch a share of the MIAA regular season crown. Calvin has won at least a share of the last six MIAA regular season titles.
"I was really pleased with our defense tonight," said head coach Amber Warners. "It is a great honor for the team to earn a share of the MIAA title. This group has worked very hard this season, and they are deserving of this honor. With that being said, we still have a lot of things we want to accomplish, but this is a key step."
Early in the first set, the Knights used a five-point run to jump out to a 7-2 lead and force a timeout by the Scots. Following the timeout, the teams went back-and-forth in scoring with the Knights holding onto a five or six-point advantage. However, after three consecutive kills by the Knights, courtesy of junior Tessa Van Laare (Toronto, Ontario/Toronto District Christian) and a pair by senior Laura Danhoff (Willard, Ohio/Willard), the Knights possessed a 15-6 lead and Alma called its second timeout. Despite winning a few big rallies late in the set, the Scots were unable to recover from their early deficit, and the Knights rolled to a 25-14 win.
The Scots scored the first point of the second set, but the Knights responded with six consecutive points to go up 6-1. Calvin would continue to build on its lead, earning a 14-8 advantage, but Alma would claim the next four points to narrow the gap to two. The Scots would come within one point of the Knights on several occasions, but a big kill by freshman Sarah DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northpointe Christian) that gave Calvin a 20-17 lead fueled the home team to finish out the set. A service ace by sophomore Anna Kamp (Orland Park, Ill./Chicago Christian) sealed the 25-18 victory for the Knights.
In the third set, the Scots hung with the Knights early, trailing only by four points. Behind the serve of junior Emily Blankespoor (Grand Rapids, Mich./South Christian), Calvin would pull away, earning the next five points to put them ahead 15-6. Despite a comeback effort by the Scots, the Knights outscored Alma 10-9 to close out the match, claiming a 25-15 victory.
Laura Danhoff recorded a match-high 17 kills for the Knights with a .680 hitting percentage. Junior Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, Ill./Timothy Christian) had a solid all-around performance for the Knights, pumping out 35 assists while also recording four kills, four service aces and eight digs. Anna Kamp finished with nine kills and ten digs. On the defensive end, Emily Blankespoor led the way for the Knights with 12 digs, while sophomore Keilahna Castillo (Grandville, Mich./Grandville) had 11. Sophomore Dani Rae Wascher (Albuquerque, N.M./Bosque) recorded her first dig of the season in the third set.
The Knights' three-match home stand continues on Friday night when they host rival Hope College at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, the Knights will host Olivet College at 1 p.m.

MIAA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 10-25-16

Calvin 14-0
Hope 12-2
Saint Mary's 9-5
Adrian 8-6
Alma 7-8
Albion 6-8
Olivet 4-10
Kalamazoo 2-12
Trine 2-13

WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

For the third time in her collegiate career, Calvin College junior Abby Van Harn has been named the MIAA Athlete of the Week for women's swimming and diving.
A native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School, Van Harn had a standout set of performances this past weekend as the Knights kicked off their 2016-17 campaign.
At the MIAA Relays Friday night in Holland, Van Harn anchored Calvin's first place 200 freestyle relay with a split of 23.94. She also led off Calvin's first place 200 butterfly relay that finished in a time of 1:53.35. In addition, she was a part of Calvin's first place 500 freestyle relay team that clocked in with a time of 4:47.34.
On Saturday in a triangular with Grand Valley State and Hillsdale at Calvin's Venema Aquatic Center, Van Harn captured first place in the 50 freestyle (24.29) and 100 freestyle (52.98). She was also part of Calvin's 200 medley relay team that placed third and its 400 freestyle relay team that placed second.
Received on Tue Oct 25 23:58:49 2016