CLEVELAND, Ohio – The 11th-ranked Calvin University women's volleyball team closed the non-conference portion of its schedule by sweeping a triangular hosted by Case Western Reserve University (CRWU) on Saturday.
Calvin (21-3) opened the day with a 3-0 sweep of William Smith College (16-5) by the scores of 25-23, 25-15 and 25-18 before defeating CWRU (9-16) in four sets by the scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-23 and 29-27.
Match 1
The Knights opened the day on a strong note with a 3-0 win over William Smith.
The Herons, ranked 28th in the latest Nation Power Index (NPI) ranking, battled the Knights early and held a late 22-20 lead in the first set before the Knights closed with five of the final six points to win the set 25-23.
Sarah Bradley (Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate) led the Knights with four kills while
Olivia Peterson (Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon) recorded 11 assists and four digs.
The Knights took control from there, winning the second set 25-15 thanks to a .333 attack efficiency led by four more kills from Bradley, and then taking set three 25-18 while hitting .412 as
Allison Moore (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter Christian) and Bradley each accounted for four kills and Peterson recorded 15 assists.
Calvin hit .315 for the match with Bradley leading the way with 12 kills. Moore and
Caralee Schipper (Mount Brydges, Ontario, Canada/Strathroy District Collegiate Institute) each finished with nine kills Peterson led the team in both assists (35) and digs (10).
Mary Boa (Atlanta, Ga./Riverwood International Charter) finished with seven kills and four blocks.
Tryna Vander Zwaag (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian) and
Delaney Kemp (Frisco, Texas/Frisco Centennial) each had three service aces.
Match 2
Calvin closed the day with a hard-fought four-set win over CRWU in the finale by the scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-23 and 29-27.
After a dominant 25-16 opening-set win by the Knights (led by six kills from Moore), the Spartans hit .390 on the attack to win the second set 25-22 and even the match at 1-1.
The Knights trailed 10-6 early in set three but answered with a run to tie the match at 14-14 and took control late to win 25-23 and take a 2-1 overall lead. Bradley recorded five kills in the set while Peterson and
Jasmine Namminga (Pella, Iowa/Pella Community) each added three kills. Vander Zwaag recorded five digs.
The fourth set went back and forth with 13 ties and six lead changes as neither team could manage a lead bigger than three points. The Knights overcame a 19-16 deficit to tie the match at 20-20 and held off two set points. With the teams low on substitutions late, the Spartans fought off two Calvin match points before
Kate Van Appledorn (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) came up with the big kill to end the set 29-27 and push the Knights to the four-set win. Van Appledorn was big throughout the set with six kills while Bradley also recorded six kills to go with five digs in the set.
Bradley led the attack for the Knights with 21 kills to go with 15 digs. Van Appledorn added 13 kills and two blocks. Moore finished with 12 kills. Peterson finished with 44 assists, 12 digs, four kills and two service aces. Vander Zwaag tied Bradley for the team lead with 15 digs while Namminga finished with six kills in the final two sets.
NEXT UP: Calvin women's volleyball will return to action on Wednesday, November 4, when it hosts Alma College in a match scheduled to start at 6:30 PM.
