CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR NOV. 4, 206
Volleyball Defeats Adrian in MIAA Tournament Semifinals - To Face Hope in Saturday Finals;
Danhoff Named MIAA Volleyball MVP - Five Calvin Players Receive All-MIAA Honors;
Swimming and Diving Teams Have Strong Opening Days at Calvin Quad
VOLLEYBALL
By Gina de Haan
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- This weekend, the Calvin women's volleyball team welcomes Saint Mary's, Hope, and Adrian to Van Noord arena for the MIAA postseason tournament.
On Friday night, the top-seeded Knights faced off against the fourth-seeded Adrian College Bulldogs tournament semifinals. Calvin came back from a first-set loss to defeat Adrian 3-1 (23-25, 25-17, 25-11, 25-17) to earn a spot in the MIAA Tournament finals and remain undefeated on the year.
"Both teams came out wanting to win. It maybe wasn't the best-played match on both sides, but I was really happy that we got the job done, and particularly I liked how we responded after losing a tough first set," said Calvin women's volleyball head coach Dr. Amber Warners. "It happens. It normally doesn't happen to us, but I think that's just a part of the game."
"What I loved about tonight is that we responded together," said Warners. "The focus became less on the score and the outcome and more on building each other up. We talked about focusing less on your personal performance and more on others, and how that's going to bring everyone else up."
Calvin entered the match ranked No. 1 in the country with a 26-0 overall record and 16-0 conference mark. Adrian came into the postseason with at 15-13 overall and 9-7 in MIAA play.
The contest marked the third meeting this year between the two teams. In both of the regular season matches, the Knights have swept the Bulldogs. Early in the season, the Knights won in straight-sets 25-12, 25-13, 25-13, and then again in mid-October, defeating Adrian 25-21, 25-18, 25-16.
The Knights jumped on the Bulldogs early in the first set. Calvin took a 7-2 lead, backed by kills from senior Laura Danhoff (Willard, Ohio/Willard HS), junior Tessa Van Laare (Toronto, Ontario/Toronto District Christian) and Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, Ill./Timothy Christian HS), forcing an Adrian timeout. The Bulldogs would chip away at the Knights' lead, claiming eight of the following ten points to knot the score at ten. The teams exchanged points with Calvin holding onto a two-point lead (17-15) until the visiting Bulldogs strung together a four-point run behind the serve of Margo Joubran to pull ahead 19-17.
Down 20-19, the Knights would go on a 3-0 run to gain a 22-20 advantage, but were answered by three straight points by Adrian. Calvin called timeout to halt the Bulldogs' momentum. Out of the break, freshman Sarah DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northpointe Christian HS) put down a big kill to tie the score at 23, but Adrian would take the claim the last two points of the set to secure a 25-23 victory.
The Knights led by a small margin to start the second set, but began to pull away after a kill by Sarah DeVries. Up by two, the Knights would score a pair of points to go up 9-5. The Bulldogs showed resilience, claiming five of the next nine points to cut Calvin's lead to three (13-10). The Knights began to find their groove, going on a 7-3 run, fueled by kills from four Knight attackers, to take a 20-13 lead. Adrian would score the next three points, but a pair of kills by both Van Laare and Danhoff would boost the Knights to a 25-17 victory.
Calvin found its groove in the third set. After dropping the first two points of the set, the Knights used an 11-2 run to take an early lead (11-4); Danhoff had three straight service aces in the effort. The Bulldogs were unable to stop the Knights' widespread offensive attack, and the home team rolled to a 25-11 victory. In the third set, Danhoff had three kills, while Van Laare, Kamp and freshman Ally Fea (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg HS) each recorded a pair and Lodewyk added one.
In the fifth set, the Knights utilized an early four-point run behind two service aces by junior Kristen Vyletel (Ann Arbor, Mich./ Huron HS) to take a 5-2 lead. Calvin continued to pull ahead, as Anna Kamp put away a kill to win a big rally, earning the Knights a 10-5 advantage and forcing an Adrian timeout. The teams went back-and-forth in scoring with Calvin holding onto its five-point lead. Midway through the set, back-to-back Calvin kills by Van Laare and Danhoff put the Knights up 17-10, but Adrian responded with three straight points to cut the deficit to four.
With the scoreboard reading 17-13, Calvin scored three-consecutive points, followed by a trio of points by Adrian to bring the score to 20-16, still in favor of Calvin. The Knights would only allow the Bulldogs one more point before scoring four straight to take the set, and match.
Calvin's offense was led by Tessa Van Laare who finished with a career-high 15 kills. Danhoff, named the MIAA MVP prior to the match, recorded 13 kills along with five service aces, while DeVries logged 12 kills and four block assists.
"In the first set, we were all kind of in our heads, but as the match went on we started pulling together," said Van Laare.
Jenna Lodewyk, who was named to the CoSIDA NCAA Division III Academic All-District team this past Thursday, pumped out 43 assists in the victory and also had nine digs. Keilahna Castillo led the Knights' defense with 27 digs, also chipping in six assists.
Tomorrow evening the Knights will continue their quest for a sixth straight MIAA crown. The tournament championship match will feature Calvin and the Flying Dutch of Hope College. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
Prior to Calvin's match Friday evening, the Flying Dutch defeated Saint Mary's (25-16, 22-25, 25-23, 25-22) to claim their spot in the tournament finals, improving to 24-5 on the season.
The two rival teams met twice in the MIAA regular season, with Calvin coming out on top in both matches. In late September, the Knights swept the Dutch 25-20, 25-21, 29-27 at Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse. In its second to last regular season match, Calvin defeated the Dutch in a competitive five-set match (25-14, 19-25, 20-25, 25-19, 15-8) to claim the outright MIAA championship. Down two sets to one, the Knights utilized a late forth-set comeback to boost themselves to victory in the final set.
MORE VOLLEYBALL
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - For the seventh-straight year, a Calvin volleyball player was named the MIAA MVP. The Knights recorded five All-MIAA selections, including three on the first team. The Calvin volleyball program also claimed the MIAA Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors.
"We feel really honored to be honored by the coaches in the conference," said head coach Amber Warners. "There are a lot of quality players in the conference and I am really proud of what are players were able to accomplish so far this season. I am really happy for our players that were honored, they are really deserving of the honors."
Laura Danhoff, a senior from Willard, Ohio was named the MIAA's Most Valuable Player in volleyball. Danhoff led the MIAA in hitting percentage at .417, in kills-per-set at 3.94 and points at 252.5. Danhoff was also named to the All-MIAA first team. Danhoff has been named to the All-MIAA first team for three-straight years.
Keilahna Castillo, a sophomore from Grandville, Michigan, earned the honor of the MIAA'S Defensive Player of the Year. Castillo was also named to the All-MIAA second team. Castillo was fourth in the MIAA in aces at 28 and eighth in digs-per-set at 3.67. Castillo has been named to the All-MIAA second team for the second-straight year. This is the second time in the last eight years that a Calvin player was named Defensive Player of the Year, joining Kristen Zietse in 2013.
Sarah DeVries, a freshman from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was named the MIAA's Freshman of the Year. DeVries was also named to the All-MIAA second team. She was third in the MIAA in hitting percentage at .307 and sixth in solo blocks at seven. This is the fifth-straight year that a Calvin player has been named the MIAA Freshman of the Year.
Anna Kamp, a sophomore from Orland Park, Illinois, claimed All-MIAA first team honors. Kamp was fourth in the MIAA in points-per-set at 3.5, kills at 159 and kills-per-set at 3.12. She was also seventh in hitting percentage at .268. Kamp has been named an All-MIAA selection for two-straight years, being named to the second team in 2015.
Jenna Lodewyk, a junior from Villa Park, Illinois, received All-MIAA first team honors on Friday. Lodewyk was second in the MIAA in assists-per-set at 10.10, fourth in assists with 515 and fifth in aces-per-set at 0.51. She has been named to the All-MIAA first team all three years.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin women's swimming and diving has vaulted into a lead through day one of the Calvin Quadrangular. The Knights have a first day total of 345.5 points with Albion second with 295 points while Carthage is third (229) and Ohio Northern fourth (149.5).
Calvin opened the meet on fire, winning the 200 freestyle relay with a blazing time of 1:38.87. The relay was composed of freshman Emily Gunderson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer HS), freshman Anna Kutschke, senior Adrienne Wesselius (Sioux Center, Ia./Unity Christian HS) and junior Van Harn (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS).
Calvin then piled up an impressive 1-2-3 finish in the 500 freestyle with sophomore Anna Serino (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney HS) winning with a time of 5:17.31 while sophomore Kendall Murphy (Modesto, Ca./Home Schooled) was second (5:21.28) and sophomore Madelyn Smith (Allegan, Mich./Allegan HS) third (5:26.35).
Calvin took three of the top five spots in the 50 freestyle led by Van Harn who won the race in a time of 24.20 while Gunderson was third (24.84) and Kutschke fifth (25.19).
Junior Sarah Bradley (Wheaton, Il./Wheaton North HS) had a big evening in winning the three-meter diving competition with a score of 455.25.
In the 400 medley relay, the group of sophomore Danielle Sugijanto (Walnut Creek, Ca./Northgate HS), Kutschke, Serino and Van Harn took second with a time of 4:08.12.
Action continues on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin men's swimming and diving team had a strong first day of competition at the Calvin Quadrangular held inside the Venema Aquatic Center Friday evening.
Through one day of competition, the Knights, are in second place with 314 points, just five points behind Carthage and 85 points ahead of third place Albion and 99 points ahead of Ohio Northern.
Calvin opened the meet with a bang, winning the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 1:25.62. The relay consisted of junior Ben Holstege (Keswick, Va./Covenant HS), junior Skyler Fish (Ionia, Mich./Iona HS), senior Eli Holstege (Kewsick, Va./Covenant HS) and sophomore Jared Britton (Falls Church, Va./George Mason HS).
Ben Holstege took second in the 200 IM (1:59.43) while Eli Holstege was second in the 50 freestyle (21.73) and Briton was third (21.79).
In the 500 freestyle, freshman Tim Randall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) was fourth (4:58.97) and sophomore Nathan Olberding (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville HS) sixth (5:01.06).
In the one-meter diving competition, junior Michael Moentmann (Solon, Oh./Solon HS) was second (459.80) and senior Dirk Tanis (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) third (436.30).
Calvin's 400 medley relay of Ben Holstege, Eli Holstege, senior Brett Stoughton (Centerville, Ind./Centerville HS) and Britton cruised to a first place time of 3:31.33.
Action continues on Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
Received on Sat Nov 5 00:25:49 2016
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