NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The 13th-ranked Calvin University women's volleyball team remains unbeaten in MIAA play following a 3-0 sweep at Saint Mary's College (Ind.) on Tuesday by the scores of 25-19, 28-26 and 25-21.
Calvin (15-2, 2-0 MIAA) battled back and forth against a tough Saint Mary's (12-9, 1-2 MIAA) effort and fought through four set points in the second set to help preserve the sweep.
The Knights started strong, recording a .378 hitting efficiency in the opening set on the way to a 25-19 win.
Kate Van Appledorn (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) and
Mary Boa (Atlanta, Ga./Riverwood International Charter) led the way with four kills apiece and
Olivia Peterson recorded 13 assists and two kills to help the Knights to a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Belles fought back in a second set that featured 15 ties and seven lead changes. Saint Mary's looked set to even the match with leads of 23-18 and 24-21 late, but Calvin fought off four set points with the help of three kills by
Sarah Bradley (Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate) and finished the set with a block by Van Appledorn and
Caralee Schipper (Mount Brydges, Ontario/Strathroy District Collegiate Institute) to win 28-26. The front row came up big on the defensive end with six blocks, led by four from Boa. Bradley and
Allison Moore (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter Christian) combined for nine kills to lead the attack.
Saint Mary's continued to battle in the third set to extend the match, but the Knights pulled away late and won the set 25-21 on a kill by Boa to finish off the sweep. Bradley added five more kills in the set. Van Appledorn recorded three blocks to help the Knights finish the match with 10 total blocks.
Bradley led Calvin with 13 kills in the match with Moore chipping in 10 kills (with zero errors) and hitting .476. Boa and Van Appledorn each finished with five blocks and combined for 15 kills.
Peterson led all players with 37 assists to go with five kills on six attacks (.833 efficiency).
Tryna Vander Zwaag (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian) led the Knights with nine digs.
Lina Kasuboski (Racine, Wis./Union Grove) added three service aces.
NEXT UP: Calvin women's volleyball will return to action on Friday, October 16, when it travels to Trine University for a match scheduled to start at 6:30 PM.
