COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Today the Calvin women's volleyball team kicked off its 2026 season in style at the Colorado College Tournament when it defeated St. Norbert in a 3-0 sweep before going on to reverse sweep host team Colorado.
GAME ONE
CALVIN 3, ST. NORBERT 0
In their first set of the day the Knights found themselves in a battle with St. Norbert where the score was tied six times early on in the match. It wasn't until the score was 13-13 that Calvin made their move and went on a 8-3 run led by sophomore
Sarah Bradley (Clarkston, Mich./Everest Collegiate) to create some distance. Key kills from sophomore
Caralee Schipper (Mount Brydges, Ontario/Strathroy District Collegiate Institute), senior
Allison Moore (Jupiter, Fla./Jupiter Christian), and senior
Mary Boa (Atlanta, Ga./Riverwood International Charter) down the stretch clinched the first set 25-26 and gave the Knights the early 1-0 lead.
Looking to bounce back, St. Norbert started the second set hot and took a quick 6-1 lead over Calvin. However, Calvin did not waiver and fought throughout the set until the score was deadlocked at 25-25. Needing to win by two, a monster kill from Bradley gave the Knights a slight edge before an attacking error from St. Norbert tipped the scales in Calvin's favor and they picked up the 27-25 win in the second set.
The Knights kept the momentum rolling into the third set where they took the lead early and never looked back. Bradley, Boa, and Moore added to their kills totals while freshman
Kate Van Appledorn (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) made her presence known at the net when she recorded one kill and one block during the set.
Calvin finished the match with a hitting percentage of .235 with their highest percentage of .235 coming in the third set. The Knights also held St. Norbert to a hitting percentage of .129 and recorded seven blocks and ten service aces as a team.
Bradley led the way for the Knights with eleven kills, ten digs and five service aces while Moore was close behind with nine kills. Schipper and Boa chipped in eight and seven kills, respectively. Freshman setter
Olivia Peterson (Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon) tallied thirty-one assists in her Calvin debut while junior
Lina Kasuboski (Racine, Wis./Union Grove) added two service aces.
GAME TWO
CALVIN 3, COLORADO COLLEGE 2
In the second match of the day the Knights turned their attention to the host team, the Tigers of Colorado College. In the first set, the Tigers looked comfortable in their home arena as they beat Calvin 25-18 and took a 1-0 lead. Schipper led the way for Calvin with four kills while Moore and Boa each had two.
The second set was a hard-fought battle with five ties before the Tigers eventually prevailed 25-23 and took a commanding 2-0 lead over the Knights. With their backs against the wall, the Knights punched back in the third set when they took down Colorado 25-17 with Bradley leading the charge with three kills. Calvin continued to play with high energy as they picked up another win in the fourth set and the match pushed forward into the fifth and final set.
Van Appledorn came in clutch with two early kills while Boa and Bradley each added a kill apiece when Calvin opened the set with a 7-2 run. However, the Tigers refused to roll over and fought back. With the two teams deadlocked the score continued to climb until it was 18-18. Needing to win by two, a timely from Bradley gave Calvin the spark they needed to get over the hump and the Knights picked up the 20-18 victory they needed to complete the reverse sweep.
Bradley packed the stat sheet as she recorded fourteen kills, fifteen digs, and two service errors during the match. Moore also finished with fourteen kills while Van Appledorn was close behind with twelve. Boa and Schipper each chipped in ten kills and Peterson led the team with a whopping forty-six assists. Senior libero
Tryna Vander Zwaag (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian) notched a team high twenty-two digs.
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action tomorrow Saturday, September 5th when they complete their time at the Colorado College Tournament against Augustana College at 12 PM (MT).
