Box Score HOLLAND, Mich. – Calvin secured its 16th MIAA Tournament title in thrilling fashion Saturday night, defeating rival Hope in five sets at DeVos Fieldhouse by scores of 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 23-25, 15-12.
The MIAA Tournament title is the 14th under current head coach Amber Warners who is now 14-4 all-time in MIAA Tournament Championship matches.
Ranked sixth nationally, Calvin (27-3) earns the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament which will open next week. The NCAA III Tournament field will be announced at 12:30 p.m. on Monday at: http://www.ncaa.com.
Saturday's match featured a reversal from the 2021 MIAA spring season when Calvin defeated Hope in its regular season finale to claim the MIAA regular season crown with Hope returning to Calvin a week later to snatch the MIAA Tournament crown at Van Noord Arena.
On Saturday night, Calvin did the same, seven days after falling to Hope in the regular season finale which determined the MIAA regular season champion.
Calvin owned the upper hand for the initial stages of each set but had to hold off a determined Hope side to pull out a gutsy win with the Flying Dutch threatening to claim an improbable comeback and a third-straight five set win over the Knights this fall.
After claiming the opening two sets, Calvin built a 21-18 set three lead but fifth-ranked Hope (23-4) finished the set on a 7-1 run to remain alive. In set four, Calvin rolled out to a 10-0 lead but Hope battled back to within a point on three occasions. The Knights built a 20-16 lead on a service ace to the far corner by senior Grace Kellogg (Belleville, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy). Hope responded with a 9-2 run to end the set however, setting up a pivotal fifth set.
In set five, Calvin once again punched first, building a 9-2 lead behind strong attacks from juniors Heidi Westra (Clarendon Hills, Il./Timothy Christian HS) and Maria Bos (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS). A kill by senior Madelyn Hall (Hudsonville, Mich./Hudsonville HS) boosted Calvin into an 11-6 lead but Hope answered with three straight points to make it 11-9, forcing the Knights to call their final timeout.
Out of the timeout, Hall came up with a clutch kill on a slide play with senior Anna Schriemer (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg HS) delivering a crisp pass for the shot down the sideline to put the Knights up 12-9. A kill by Hope narrowed the set to 12-10 but both sides traded back-to-back service errors to make it 13-11. Hope then delivered a service ace to make it 13-12 but the Knights stepped forward as Westra delivered back-to-back kills including the championship winner down the near sideline on another strong feed from Schriemer to send the Knights spilling onto the court in celebration.
"I don't remember being in a match of momentum swings as much as this one," said Calvin head women's volleyball coach Amber Warners. "I was really proud of our team for hanging tough. Despite all of the momentum swings, I thought our team showed a lot of resilience to stay in the present moment and get the job done."
Westra had 22 kills, 27 digs and an attack percentage of .281. She was also credited with four block assists.
Senior Kelsey Smith (Vienna, Va./Madison HS) had 15 kills and four digs. Bos had 14 kills, 10 digs, one block solo and four block assists.
Hall had 11 kills, five digs, one block solo and five block solos.
Schriemer had a big evening with 52 assists, 24 digs and three block assists.
Wrubel tallied 14 digs, seven assists and one service ace. Grace Kellogg chalked up 12 digs and three big service aces.
Freshman Vanessa Martinez (Hudsonville, Mich./Wyoming HS) had three kills, two block solos and four block assists.
Junior Theresa Kehn (Brighton, Mich./Charyl Stockwell Preparatory School) added nine digs.
As a team, Calvin had 106 digs and 14 blocks – both season-highs.
Heading into the NCAA III Tournament, Warners is grateful for the ability of her entire team to contribute. "I'm just very grateful that we have so much 'buy-in' with this team," said Warners. "It is a very unselfish group. Our players have accepted their roles and have been ready to step up when called upon. I have an amazing staff of assistant coaches who have helped me out so much in knowing when to call on one player and then call one someone else when the time is right. I try to learn from my coaches and players each day and I am grateful for each one of them."
NEXT UP: Calvin will await its NCAA III Tournament destination when the selection show takes place Monday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. (EST) on: http://www.ncaa.com
