NCAA III POSTMATCH PRESS CONFERENCE - 12-3-25

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – The 19th-ranked Calvin University women's volleyball team saw its season come to an end with a 3-0 (25-13, 26-24, 25-21) defeat to third-ranked UW-Oshkosh in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA III Tournament on Wednesday.
 
Calvin (28-4) battled tough against the Titans but could not overcome a strong UW-Oshkosh (32-3) attack that hit .297 with outside hitter Samantha Perlberg leading the charge with 23 kills for the match.
 
The Titans started strong in the opening set, hitting .400 as they broke open a 16-13 score with a 9-0 run to close the set to take a 1-0 overall lead. Mary Boa (Atlanta, Ga./Riverside International Charter) recorded three blocks in set for Calvin.
 
The Knights fell behind 10-5 early in the second set but fought back to take a 12-11 lead. The teams went back and forth throughout the set, with the Titans holding a late 22-19 lead before Calvin scored five of the next six points to hold a set point at 24-23. Oshkosh would close strong, however, with three straight points to win the set 26-24 and take a 2-0 overall lead.
 
Caralee Schipper (Mount Brydges, Ontario/Strathroy District Collegiate Institute) was big for the Knights in the set with four kills, while Emma Ekblaw (Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton) added two kills.
 
Calvin looked to extend the match and opened the third set by rushing out to an 11-5 lead, but the Titans came back to tie the score at 15-15 and then erased a 19-17 Calvin lead late by finishing the match on an 8-2 run to secure the win. Sarah Bradley (Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate) recorded five of her team-best eight kills in the set.
 
Calvin finished the match hitting .158 on the attack compared to .297 for the Titans. Bradley led the way with eight kills while Aerin Baker (Saugatuck, Mich./Saugatuck) added seven and both Schipper and Ekblaw recorded six.
 
Ekblaw also led the team with five blocks. Tryna Vander Zwaag (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian) recorded 12 digs and Bradley finished with 10 digs.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "Congratulations to Coach Jon Ellmann and Wisconsin-Oshkosh (volleyball). They were ready to play, performed well and have a ton of talent," said Calvin head women's volleyball coach Amber Warners. "I thought tonight they were better than us. I thought we came out with maybe a few too many nerves. I thought if we could have squeaked out the second set that maybe the momentum might have changed. I was very proud of our team's effort. Even in the third set it did not give up and fought to the end and that's a tribute to the type of team we have had all year. I am incredibly proud of where started from in August to where we are today. I'm not sure too many people following us would have have 'Elite 8' on their scorecard but we certainly believed we could do it. I think this is a team for me that has improved the most from beginning to the end."