RICHMOND, Ind. – The 15th-ranked Calvin University women's volleyball team scored a sweep of Saturday's triangular at Earlham College, defeating Earlham 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 20-25, 25-22) and 18th-ranked Otterbein University (27-25, 19-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10).
In the win over Earlham, Calvin (11-2) recorded the 1,500th win in program history.
Match 1
Calvin earned a four-set win over Earlham (6-12) to open the day.
The Knights overcame a late deficit to win the opening set 25-22 with the help of four kills and one block by
Mary Boa (Atlanta, Ga./Riverwood International Charter). The Knights continued that momentum into the second set, where they earned a 25-19 win to take a 2-0 overall lead as
Olivia Peterson (Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon),
Sarah Bradley (Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate) and
Kate Van Appledorn (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) each recorded two kills.
The Quakers responded in the third set, breaking a 19-19 tie by scoring six of the final seven points to win the set 25-20 and force a fourth game, but Calvin pulled away late in the fourth set to win 25-22 with Bradley recording kills on two of the final three points to clinch the win.
Bradley led the Calvin attack with 11 kills. Peterson finished with 30 assists and eight kills, while
Allison Moore (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter Christian) and Boa each finished with seven kills for Calvin.
Tryna Vander Zwaag (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian) finished with a team-best 20 digs for the Knights.
Match 2
The Knights came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat 18th-ranked Otterbein (13-3) in five sets in a rematch of a match Otterbein won two weeks ago in Van Noord Arena.
The first set went back and forth with 10 ties and four lead changes. The Knights came back from a 23-21 deficit to take a 24-23 lead, but the Cardinals fought off two set points before the Knights finally ended the set at 27-25 with the help of an attack error to take a 1-0 lead.
Caralee Schipper (Mount Brydges, Ontario/Strathroy District Collegiate Institute) led the Calvin attack with four kills while Bradley added three. Vander Zwaag recorded eight digs in the set.
The Cardinals answered with a 25-19 win in set number-two and took a big lead in the third set. Trailing 21-14, the Knights clawed back to trail by only one at 24-23 before the Cardinals earned the next point to take a 2-1 overall lead in the match.
Calvin used that momentum from its third-set comeback into the fourth set and fought off a comeback attempt by the Cardinals that cut a six-point lead (15-9) to one (19-18) before winning six of the final eight points to win 25-20 and even the match at 2-2. Moore came up big on the attack with five kills in the set as the Knights recorded 16 kills and hit .238 for the set. Calvin also recorded four blocks in the set.
The fifth set belonged to Calvin as the Knights raced out to a 10-4 lead and closed out the Cardinals 15-10 to earn the comeback win. Van Appledorn added three kills in the set while
Grace Spoelma (Caledonia, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) had five assists.
Schipper led four Calvin hitters in double figures with 14 kills. Boa and Bradley each finished with 13 kills, while Van Appledorn recorded 12 kills to go with a team-high four blocks.
Vander Zwaag led the Knights with 27 digs.
Lina Kasuboski (Racine, Wis./Union Grove) added 15 digs.
The win marked the third five-set win for the Knights this season and their second over a ranked opponent.
NEXT UP: Calvin women's volleyball will open MIAA play on Wednesday, October 7, when it travels to Kalamazoo College for a match scheduled to start at 7:00 PM.
