Match Notes
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Calvin will face three nationally-ranked opponents this weekend as it faces #7 Wittenberg Friday night, and #9 Eastern and #18 Clarkson on Saturday. A year ago Calvin defeated Clarkson in five and fell to Wittenberg in three. Wittenberg later reached the NCAA III Regional finals before falling to eventual national champion Hope. Eastern reached the NCAA III Regional finals but was knocked out by Christopher Newport. Clarkson bowed to Hope in the national quarterfinals of the NCAAs while Calvin fell to Hope in the NCAA III semifinals.
Calvin/Witt Rivalry – The Calvin/Wittenberg rivalry has been one of the more spirited non-conference rivalries in Division III volleyball. Calvin is 3-1 against Wittenberg at Van Noord Arena with Wittenberg defeating Calvin at Van Noord in the 2011 NCAA regional finals while Calvin came back to topple the Tigers in both the 2012 and 2013 NCAA III regional finals at Van Noord Arena. The two teams also met in the NCAA III Regional finals in 2005 (at Witt), 2006 (at Calvin Fieldhouse) and 2010 (at Witt) with Wittenberg winning in 2005 and 2006 and Calvin winning in 2010 – en route to claiming its first-ever national title.
Serving to Win – Calvin's service game has been a big weapon for the Knights. Through 20 matches, Calvin has 165 service aces this year. Last year, Calvin had 123 service aces through 20 matches. Calvin recently served up 16 aces in a three-set win at Kalamazoo.
Career-Highs – A number of Calvin players amassed career-highs in a five-set win over Adrian on October 6. Setter Jenna Lodewyk had a career-high 58 assists. Freshman Anna Kamp (18 kills) and sophomore Tessa Van Laare (14 kills) had career-highs in kills. Senior Rachel Lubben also had a career-high 11 kills in the win.
At Van Noord Arena - Calvin began competing in Van Noord Arena for the first time in 2009. Since then, Calvin has fashioned a won-loss record of 86-3 at home including 48-1 over the last four years. Calvin's only home defeats were to Hope (2009, five sets), to Wittenberg (2011, four sets) and Emory (2015, four sets). Meet the Coach - Calvin head coach Amber Warners is currently in her 15th year as a head collegiate volleyball coach which includes 14 years at Calvin and one year as interim coach at Hope (1994). Heading into tonight, Warners is 433-79 (.845) as a collegiate volleyball coach and 411-68 (.858) at Calvin. Heading into the 2015 season, Warners was ranked second among active Division III coaches among winning percentage and 14th among all coaches at any NCAA (I, II or III) level.
On the Road/Neutral Floors– Calvin is 6-0 on the road this year and 2-2 on neutral floors.
MIAA Honors – Calvin senior Maggie Kamp has been a two-time MIAA Player of the Week this fall while Laura Danhoff has received the honor once. Jenna Lodewyk has received MIAA Specialty Player of the Week honors once this fall. Legacy Knight – Calvin sophomore setter Jenna Lodewyk is a legacy Calvin College volleyball player as her mother Kim (Lautenbach) Lodewyk was a four-year member of the Calvin women's volleyball program from 1983-to-1986 and was a member of Calvin's 1986 team that finished as national runners-up. Kim was a first team All-MIAA volleyball selection in 1985. Her father Bill Lodewyk was a member of the Calvin men's club volleyball team during that same time.
Canadian Connection – Jenna Lodewyk's father Bill is one of four brothers who played athletics at Calvin. The family hailed from Surrey, British Columbia. Jenna's uncle Rich and Ken were members of Calvin's (then) varsity ice hockey team in the 1980s while the youngest Lodewyk brother – Mark – was a starting forward and a first team All-MIAA selection on Calvin's 1992 national championship men's basketball team. Jenna Lodewyk is not the only player on the Calvin roster with a Canadian connection to an uncle who played varsity basketball at Calvin. Calvin sophomore Tessa VanLaare is from Toronto, Ontario. Her father Brad was a varsity ice hockey player at Calvin during the late 1980s. Her uncle Darrell VanLaare was a member of the Calvin men's basketball team from 1993-to-1995 and was a two-time first team All-MIAA selection (1994 and 1995) in men's hoops. Uncle Darrell is second on the Calvin single-season list for blocked shots (71 in 1995) and fifth on the Calvin career list for blocked shots (128).
Against Nationally-Ranked Foes – Calvin is 4-4 this year against nationally-ranked opponents. Calvin fell to #2 Emory on September 4 in four sets and then topped #23rd ranked Pacific Lutheran in three sets on September 4. On September 12, Calvin defeated ninth-ranked Hope in three sets. On September 18, Calvin fell in three sets to sixth-ranked Washington University of St. Louis but then turned around to defeat top-ranked Emory on its home floor in four sets on September 19. Calvin then fell in five sets to ninth-ranked Cal Lutheran on September 19. Calvin then dropped #13 Hope in three sets on October 14 in Holland.
Fights in Five – Calvin is 1-1 in five-set matches this year, falling to Cal Lutheran in five sets on September 19 at the Emory National Invitational and then defeating Adrian in five sets at VanNoord Arena on October 6.
NCAA III Stats Leaders - *In the most recent set of NCAA III statistics, Lodewyk is 24th in assists-per-set (10.37) while Laura Danhoff is ranked sixth in hitting percentage (.387). As a team, Calvin is ranked 4th nationally in hitting percentage (.280) and 10th in kills-per-set (13.57) and 17th in assists-per-set (12.40).
