Calvin remained unbeaten and home and created a three-way tie for first place
in the MIAA standings with an exciting 27-30, 30-17, 30-27, 24-30, 15-12 victory
over rival Hope Wednesday evening at the Calvin Fieldhouse. Calvin, Alma and
Hope are now tied for first place in the conference standings with 9-3
conference records with each school having two league matches left to play
before the conference tournament begins October 30.
Calvin improved to 15-9 overall and to 6-0 at the Calvin Fieldhouse this year
with Wednesday night's win which snapped a four-match losing streak to Hope.
Strong defensive play and timely serving propelled Calvin to the victory as the
Knights amassed 21 total blocks and 15 service aces. The Knights also finished
with a .267 team hitting percentage over the course of the match while the
Flying Dutch (13-12) had a hitting percentage of .123.
Junior outside hitter Cassie Christopher of Fruitport High School had one of
her finest performances in a Calvin uniform in the win with 18 kills and six
service aces. Freshman outside hitter Kristin DeGroot (Tulare, CA) was also
stellar for the maroon and gold with 14 kills, 10 digs and four blocks.
Sophomore Trisha Balkema (Highland, IN) was also impressive with 11 kills, two
blocks and a match-high 20 digs, many of which came in acrobatic fashion.
Balkema also provided the match-winning kill with a soft tip into the Hope
middle with the score 14-12 in game five. In addition, junior middle hitter
Melissa Pell of Fremont High School tallied 11 kills, six aces and five blocks
along with a hitting percentage of .320. Senior setter Sara Ahrenholz
(Prinsburg, MN) helped set the table for the Knights with 59 assists. Freshman
Kara Kuipers (Unity Christian) chipped in with seven kills and a match-high six
blocks.
Hope was led by Laura Hahnfeld with 15 kills and 10 digs while Martha Luidens
had 12 kills and six blocks. Setter McKenna Troyan also tallied 51 assists and
eight digs for the Flying Dutch.
Calvin will host Albion Friday at 6:30 pm in an MIAA conference match. The
Knights will then close out their MIAA regular season schedule next Tuesday with
a match at Kalamazoo.
