CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR NOV. 9, 2017
Volleyball Claims Five-Set Thriller Over Washington U. in NCAA III Tournament;
Calvin Soccer Players Receive CoSIDA Academic All-District Honors;
Men's Basketball Picked Third in MIAA Preseason Coaches' Poll
VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Washington University 2
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The No. 2 ranked Calvin volleyball team met the No. 13 ranked Bears of Washington University in St. Louis in a rematch of the 2016 national championship match in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon Bloomington, Illinois.
The Knights improve to 27-3 on the year with the 3-2 victory. The Knights rallied back from 10-14 in the fifth set to win. The Bears finish the year at 24-10. Calvin beat the Bears, 25-16, 25-15, 20-25, 23-25, 16-14.
"I first want to congratulate WashU and Vanessa," said head coach Dr. Amber Warners. "I have the upmost respect for Vanessa; I consider her one of my good friends and colleagues. At this stage of the game, your heart goes out to the other team, especially like a situation like this match. It was a game of momentum, a game of serving and passing, like it always is. I think the biggest thing we can take away from it is that we never gave up."
The Knights opened the match on a 3-1 run, behind the serve of senior Kristen Vyletel (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron). The Maroon and Gold broke the set open at the 6-6 mark with a 5-1 run. The Bears would not go away and cut the lead to 15-13. It would be all Calvin from there, with the Knights closing the set on a 10-3 run. Junior Anna Kamp (Orland Park, Ill./Chicago Christian), who was named the Great Lakes Region Player of the Year earlier on Friday, had back-to-back service aces in the run.
The Maroon and Gold jumped on the Bears early in the second set at 9-3. Washington University responded with a 4-0 run to cut the Calvin lead to 9-7. Leading 13-10, the Knights snagged WashU in the bear trap with an 11-2 run to secure the second set. Senior Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, Ill./Timothy Christian) had three kills in the final Calvin run. Calvin took a 2-0 lead with a 25-15 victory.
The Bears used a 6-1 run to take a 13-9 lead in the third set. WashU pushed the lead to 20-11 and took the set 25-20.
"I think we woke the Bears in that third set," said Warners. "I thought they played much better. I don't know if it was that we were letting up on our serving or they were staying in system more. When they stay in system, they are a really tough team."
The Knights and Bears stayed close to start off the fourth set, with neither team able to build a lead larger than two points. With the Bears leading 17-16, they pushed the lead to 19-16. WashU pushed the lead to 24-20, but Calvin would not fold. Kills from Jenna Lodewyk and senior Tessa Van Laare (Toronto, Ont./Toronto District Christian) cut the deficit to 23-24. Leila King put the set away for the Bears at 25-23.
Calvin entered the match with a 2-0 record in fifth sets in 2017, with victories over Cal Lutheran and Millikin.
The Bears struck first in the fifth set with a 4-0 lead. Julianne Malek led the Bears with three kills in the run. The Knights would not fold and the serve of sophomore Sarah DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northpointe Christian) gave the Green and Red issues. After back-to-back service aces from DeVries the Knights tied the set at four. The Bears once again pushed the lead up to 7-4, but the Knights would rally back again, this time behind the serve of junior Keilahna Castillo, (Grandville,Mich./Grandville) to take the lead back at 9-7.
A 7-1 run for WashU put the Bears at the doorstep of victory and revenge at 14-10. Tessa Van Laare got the ball rolling with a kill. Jenna Lodewyk would then have to serve the rest of the set. A Bear ball handling error cut the deficit to 14-12 and a kill from freshman Sydney Segard (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville) made it a one-point match. After a WashU timeout, the Bears had another attacking error to tie the match. Sarah DeVries broke the tie with a kill to give the Knight match point. The match then ended on a WashU attacking error to give the Knights the fifth set, 16-14.
"In practice, we have been focusing on serving mentality a lot," said Jenna Lodewyk. "Shout-out to the coaches for preparing us because that kind of situation is really tough. In my mind, I could acknowledge my career was on the line, that our team's season was on the line. I had to choose to believe in myself and believe that I was prepared for something like this, that I am capable of putting the ball in even in a pressure situation. It was tough, but choosing to put certain thing in your mind has made a huge difference."
Sarah DeVries had a stellar afternoon and finished one assist short of a triple-double, with 15 kills, 11 digs, nine assists and seven blocks. She also matched her career-high with four service aces.
Anna Kamp led all players with 18 kills, a career-high four service aces, and a career-high 17 digs.
Tessa Van Laare posted a season-high 13 kills and Jenna Lodewyk had 10 kills and 42 assists.
Keilahna Castillo led the Knights with 23 digs.
Calvin is now 52-25 in the NCAA Tournament. The Knight have now advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament for nine-straight years.
The Knights will play Millikin in the NCAA Tournament Second Round. The Maroon and Gold beat the Big Blue at Van Noord Arena in the Midwest Invitational, 3-2 back on October 13.
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin College juniors Trent Vegter and Jacob Witte have been named to the CoSIDA Division III Academic All-District 6 Team in men's soccer.
District 6 includes players from the states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Individuals are voted to the all-district team by members of the College Sports Information Directors Association of America.
As members of the CoSIDA Academic All-District team, Vegter and Witte advance to the national ballot and are now eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America consideration.
A native of Hudsonville and a graduate of Hudsonville Unity Christian High School, Vegter is receiving CoSIDA Academic All-District honors for the first time.
A two-way threat as a defender, Vegter has helped the top-ranked Calvin men's soccer team post 13 shutout victories this fall. Offensively, he has four goals, 10 assists and 18 points. He scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win at Kalamazoo on October 21. During the year he was a two-time MIAA Defensive Player of the Week. He was later named the MIAA's Most Valuable Player and landed a spot on the All-MIAA first team for the third straight year.
In the classroom, Vegter is an engineering major. He was a member of the 2016-17 MIAA Academic Honor Roll.
Witte hails from Grand Rapids and is a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School. An outside winger, Witte is making his second straight appearance on the CoSIDA Academic All-District 6 Team.
Witte has been a key part of a powerful Calvin offensive attack this fall, compiling nine goals, 10 assists and 28 points. He has a pair of game-winning goals this fall, scoring in a 3-0 win over Lake Forest on September and also in a 5-0 win over Olivet October 25.
He was named MIAA Offensive Player of the Week once during the season and landed a spot on the All-MIAA first team for the second straight year.
In the classroom, Witte is majoring in Speech Pathology. He is a four-time member of the Calvin Dean's List and a two-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll.
Vegter and Witte have helped the Calvin men's soccer team compile an overall record of 19-0-1 this fall as the Knights completed an MIAA double, winning the MIAA regular season title (11-0-1) and the MIAA Tournamet crown.
Calvin will compete in the the NCAA III Tournament Friday night as it faces Thomas More (Ky.) in a first round tournament game on the campus of John Carroll University in University Heights, Ohio. Friday's game is scheduled to kick off at 8 p.m.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Calvin College junior Kali Mouw has been named to the CoSIDA Division III Academic All-District 6 Team in women's soccer.
District 6 includes players from the states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Individuals are voted to the all-district team by members of the College Sports Information Directors Association of America.
As a member of the CoSIDA Academic All-District team, Mouw advances to the national ballot and is now eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America consideration.
Mouw is a native of Avon Lake, New York. She is a graduate of Avon Central High School.
A left back on defense, Mouw was a two-way threat for the Calvin women's soccer team this fall. As a defender, she helped Calvin post seven shutout victories this fall. She also provided an offensive presence, serving balls into scoring position on set piece place. Over the course of the season she was credited with three goals and five assists. She collected a game-winning goal in a 3-0 win over Lake Forest College on September 1.
Mouw was recently named to the All-MIAA first team after receiving All-MIAA second team honors in 2016.
In the classroom, Mouw has been a Dean's List student while majoring in recreational therapy. She was a member of the 2016-17 MIAA Academic Honor Roll.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Calvin College men's basketball team has been picked to finish third in the MIAA preseason coaches' poll released this afternoon.
Calvin received two first place votes in the poll. Defending MIAA champion Hope received four first place votes and is the preseason MIAA favorite. Alma also received two first place votes and was picked to finish second.
Olivet is picked to finish fourth with Trine and Albion in a tie for fifth. Kalamazoo was picked to finish seventh followed by Adrian in eighth.
Calvin is coming off a 17-11 campaign a year ago. The Knights finished second in the 2017 MIAA regular season standings and continued on to win the 2017 MIAA Tournament title and advance to the NCAA III Tournament for the fourth time in the last five years.
Calvin is scheduled to open its 2017-18 season on November 17 when it travels to second-ranked Augustana College (Il.).
2017-18 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Hope (4 1st place votes) - 45 points
2. Alma (2 1st place votes) - 40 points
3. Calvin (2 1st place votes) - 39 points
4. Olivet - 29 points
T5. Trine - 24 points
T5. Albion - 24 points
7. Kalamazoo - 16 points
8. Adrian - 7 points
Received on Thu Nov 9 23:15:18 2017
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