The Calvin women's volleyball team will compete in the MIAA Tournament this weekend. The Knights are scheduled to face Albion at 4:30 p.m. on Friday in an MIAA Tournament semifinal match. Calvin is the No, 2 seed with Albion the No. 3 seed. Host Hope (23-2) is the top seed and will face No 4 seed Trine (22-5) in the second semifinal match at 7 p.m.
The Live Stream of the weekend competition will be available at:
MIAA Women's Volleyball Tournament Live Stream Coverage.Â
Live statistics of the weekend competition will be available at:
MIAA Women's Volleyball Tournament Live Stats.
Friday's winners will meet in the MIAA Tournament final Saturday at 6 p.m. with the winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament.
All matches will be played at Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse. Tickets can be purchased in advance
 through the MIAA website or at the door for all three rounds. Cash and credit cards are accepted at the door. Tickets for adults are $8.00. Tickets for MIAA faculty and staff and MIAA non-students are $5.00. MIAA students and children under five are admitted free.
Calvin is 52-7 all-time in the MIAA Tournament. The Knights have appeared in 23 of the 25 prior MIAA Tournaments, winning 17. Calvin was defeated in the 2002 MIAA Tournament semifinals. The 2008 MIAA Tournament was cancelled after the first round due to illness with competing MIAA student-athletes.
A year ago, Calvin reached the MIAA Tournament Championship final, falling to Hope in three sets.
Calvin (18-8) will be facing an Albion team (10-22) that defeated Alma in three sets in a first round match Tuesday night.
Calvin faced Albion on November 1 with the Knights defeating the Britons 25-14, 25-21, 25-14.
The Calvin attack is centered around outside hitters
Avery Ekkens and
Aerin Baker. Baker averages a team-best 3.94 kills-per-set while Ekkens comes in at 3.41 kills-per-set.
The Knights also look to middle-blockers
Jasmine Namminga and
Vanessa Martinez. Namminga averages 1.38 kills and 1.22 blocks-per-set. Martinez averages a team-leading 1.39 blocks-per-set to go with 1.34 kills-per-set. Namminga is ranked 11
th nationally in blocks-per-set while Martinez is ranked fifth. Martinez has 470 blocks in her collegiate career and is four blocks away from moving into fifth place in blocks on the Calvin career list. She also leads Calvin in service aces with 37. Junior
Emma Ekblaw has also made her mark in the middle, averaging 2.45 kills and 0.86 blocks-per-set.
Calvin's offense is centered around a two-setter system. Three Calvin setters have seen significant time. Sophomore Tryna VanderZwaag averages 3.38 assists-per-set and has 30 service aces. Freshman
Delaney Kemp averages 4.56 assists-per-set and 2.62 digs-per-set. Freshman
Grace Spoelma averages 5.02 assists and 1.02 digs-per-set. Freshman libero
Mackenzie Gerig averages a team-best 3.81 digs-per-set and has 25 service aces. Defensive specialist
Lina Kasuboski contributes 2.39 digs-per-set and has 34 service aces.
Gerig and Kemp have both received MIAA Specialist Player of the Week honors this fall while Baker was recently named MIAA Player of the Week.
Calvin is under the direction of head coach Dr.
Amber Warners. Warners is 676-115 in her collegiate career for a winning percentage of .855. She has led Calvin to national titles in 2010, 2013 and 2016 while leading Calvin to the NCAA III Final Four in 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2021.
