HOLLAND SENTINEL RECAP - 11-16-25

HOLLAND, Mich. – Calvin punched its ticket to the upcoming NCAA III Tournament with a four-set upset win over No. 7 Hope College in the MIAA Tournament Championship game at DeVos Fieldhouse. Calvin defeated Hope 23-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-18.

The MIAA Tournament title is Calvin's first since the 2021 season and gives the Knights the MIAA's automatic bid to next week's NCAA III Tournament with the pairings set to be announced on Monday.

Calvin entered Saturday as the No. 22 ranked team in the Division III Top 25 poll and 22^nd in the NCAA III Power Index rankings.

The victory also snapped an eight-game Calvin losing streak against their rivals.

Calvin (25-3) came out swinging from the outset and stood toe-to-toe with the Flying Dutch (22-6) and grabbed a 22-21 lead in set one. Hope scored four of the final five points to pull out the 25-23 set one win.

In set two, Calvin put its foot down early to claim a 13-6 lead and never looked back as the Knights hit .249 in set two while holding Hope to a .059 clip.

Calvin built a 16-10 lead in set three, but the Flying Dutch clawed back to within 16-13. Calvin then pulled ahead to a 23-18 advantage and closed the set out with back-to-back service aces from sophomore Lina Kasuboski (Racine, Wisc./Union Grove).

Set four was all Calvin as the Knights hit .293 in the final frame. Senior Emma Eklbaw (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) tallied four kills in the final set, en route to finishing with 14 kills and a scorching .480 hitting percentage. Eklbaw also had three service aces, seven blocks and five digs. Freshman Sarah Bradley (Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate) was also superb, finishing with 14 kills and a .270 hitting percentage. She had 10 digs, two aces and two blocks.

Senior Aerin Banker (Saugatuck, Mich./Saugutuck HS) had nine kills, two assists and three digs. Senior Madison Wiersema (Fremont, Mich./Western Michigan Christian) and freshman Caralee Schipper (Mount Brydges, Ontario/Strathroy District Collegiate Institute) had seven kills apiece. Wiersema had three blocks and five digs. Schipper had four blocks. Junior Mary Boa (Atlanta, Ga./Riverwood International Charter) added three blocks.

As a team, Calvin tallied five solo blocks and 14 block assists.  

Sophomores Grace Spoelma (Caledonia, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) and Delaney Kemp (Frisco, Texas/Frisco Centennial) had 20 and 21 assists respectively. Kemp had 14 digs and an ace while Spoelma had 13 digs and an ace. Junior libero Tryna VanderZwaag (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian HS) had 19 digs, six assists and one improbable kill. The kill came on a ball that ricocheted off her face, flew back across the net and landed on the Hope side for a Calvin point.

Calvin hit .241 as a team while Hope hit just .114.

The MIAA Tournament title is the 18^th in Calvin women's volleyball history, more than any other MIAA institution.

COACHES COMMENT: "It feels really good," said Calvin head women's volleyball coach Amber Warners. "I thought we were very gritty. There were times where we could have gotten down on ourselves and we just didn't. The players had a look in their eyes that they weren't going to give in tonight and I'm proud that they did not do that."

NEXT UP: Calvin will await its NCAA III Tournament destination on Monday with the selection show set for 1 p.m. (ET) on NCAA.com.