ADA, Ohio - The fifth-ranked Calvin University women's volleyball team finished off an undefeated weekend at the ONU Invitational with a pair of 3-2 wins over Case Western Reserve (23-25, 21-25, 25-20, 28-26, 15-12) and Ohio Northern (20-25, 25-21, 25-18, 23-25, 18-16) on Saturday.
Calvin 3, CWRU 2
Calvin (8-1) came back from an 0-2 deficit to defeat Case Western Reserve (8-3) in five sets to start the day.
After dropping the first two sets to fall behind 0-2, the Knights fought off 13 attack errors to keep the match alive with a 25-21 third-set win.
Calvin continued that momentum into the fourth set, as
Gabriella Kellogg (Belleville, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) recorded four kills and
Vanessa Martinez (Hudsonville, Mich./Wyoming) had five blocks in the set to force a fifth and deciding game.
In the final set, the teams continued to battle to an 11-11 tie before the Knights rallied one final time to win the match on a kill from
Emma Ekblaw (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) to complete the comeback.
The Knights struggled on the attack for much of the match, committing 38 total errors, but came through in the final set with a .350 attack efficiency to close the match.
Ekblaw and Kellogg led the attack with 14 and 13 kills, respectively, while Martinez set a new career high with 12 total blocks (11 assisted, one solo).
Aubrey Wrubel (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) led all players with 25 digs and moved into fifth place in Calvin women's volleyball program history with 1,716 career digs following the two matches on Saturday.
Calvin 3, ONU 2
Calvin (9-1) finished off its weekend sweep with a 3-2 win over the hosts from Ohio Northern (9-2) on Saturday afternoon.
Both teams entered the match coming off five-set wins to start the day, as the Polar Bears defeated Albion 3-2 while the Knights were facing off with CWRU.
ONU jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 25-20 first set, but Calvin answered by taking the next two sets by the scores of 25-21 and 25-18.
The Knights looked to close out the Polar Bears and held a 21-18 lead late in the fourth set, but ONU rallied to finish off the set 25-23 to force another fifth game.
The two teams continued to fight in the final set, with the Polar Bears saving three Calvin match points late before the Knights could finally put them away with back-to-back kills by
Avery Ekkens (Portage, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian) and Ekblaw to secure the win.
The Calvin attack was steady for much of the match, but was especially strong in the final set when the Knights hit .500 with 14 kills against only one error.
Ekkens recorded a team-high 14 kills and hit .520 for the match, while
Jasmine Namminga (Pella, Iowa/Pella Community) added 10 kills without an error.
Aerin Baker (Saugatuck, Mich./Saugatuck) finished with 13 kills and also added several critical plays defensively with 15 digs to go with four service aces. Wrubel led the Knights with 17 digs, while
Alyssa DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) finished with 30 assists and 10 digs.
The win over the 23rd-ranked Polar Bears was the Knights' fourth win over a ranked opponent this season.
COACH'S COMMENT: "So proud of how we thought today," Calvin women's volleyball head coach Dr.
Amber Warners said. "We had our backs to the wall many times, and we chose to be positive, play together, and believe in ourselves. We're going to continue to keep working on unforced errors in cleaning up our game, and I can't wait to get back in the gym with these ladies."
NEXT UP: Calvin women's volleyball will return to action Friday, September 22, when it plays host to the two-day Calvin Invite at home. The Knights will host Earlham (3:00 PM) and North Park (7:00 PM) on Friday night before hosting UW-Platteville (1:00 PM) on Saturday, September 23.
