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Volleyball Falls to St. Thomas in Five Sets in National Finals
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Story by Mitch Blankespoor
HOLLAND, MI – The Calvin College women’s volleyball team fell short in its bid for a second national title in three seasons. Down two sets to none, the University of St. Thomas Tommies came back to win a thrilling five set match in from of a record crowd of 3,517 fans by scores of 13-25, 17-25, 25-18, 25-16, 15-9.The Tommies were led by Greenfield, who was later named the NCAA III Tournament’s Most Valuable Player, and Kelly Foley. Each recorded 14 kills. Sarah Atkinson hit a .455 clip while recording 12 kills. Calvin was led by Crowe, who hit a .407 clip while scoring 14 kills. Junior setter Megan Rietema (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) dished out 45 assists. Lizzie and Maggie Kamp each recorded 12 kills. Calvin finishes its season with a record of 33-3 and a national runner-up finish. The senior class for the Knights, consisting of Kim Start (Grand Rapids Christian), Lizzie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian), Jen Pluymert (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian), Julia Hilbrands (Grand Rapids Christian), Kelly Gordon (Caledonia/South Christian), Becca Ratkov (New Baltimore/Anchor Bay), Kim Start (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) and Megan Korber (Gilford, NH/Gilford) leave the Calvin volleyball program as the most successful class in program history. With a career record of 124-15, this group of seven women impacted the program on and off the court.
Calvin Takes Early Lead in MIAA Commissioner’s Cup Standings
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
A record-setting fall sports season has allowed Calvin to build an early lead in the MIAA Commissioner’s Cup Standings. Through the recently completed MIAA fall sports season, Calvin leads the standings with 100 points, four points better than Hope. In the MIAA Women’s All-Sports Standings, Calvin has a first place total of 58 points with Hope second with 53. Hope leads the MIAA Men’s All-Sports standings with 43 points, one point better than Calvin. This fall, Calvin captured a record six MIAA titles – winning conference crowns in men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s golf and volleyball.
Lizzie Kamp and Megan Rietema Named First Team Division III All-Americans by AVCA
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
2012 AVCA Division III All-America Teams
Senior Lizzie Kamp and junior Megan Rietema have been named first team Division III All-Americans by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The awards were announced this afternoon. Both players will be honored at an awards banquet Wednesday night in Holland on the campus of Hope College. A native of Orland Park, Illinois, and a graduate of Chicago Christian High School, Kamp was a second team All-American a year ago. This fall, she has posted a hitting percentage of .319 wile averaging 4.43 kills-per-set. She also averages 2.02 digs-per-set and has racked up 32 service aces and 45 blocks on the season. Last weekend, she was named to the all-tournament team of the regional hosted by Calvin. Earlier this fall was named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Player and landed a spot on the All-MIAA first team for the third straight year. She was a four-time MIAA Player of the Week selection during the fall and was named to the Otterbein/Capital Tournament all-tournament team earlier in the fall. 
A native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School, Rietema is receiving first team All-America honors for the second straight year. She is averaging 10.51 assists and 2.17 digs-per-set from her setter’s position. She is also averaging nearly one block-per-set and has 25 services aces on the year along with an attack percentage of .325. Rietema was named the Most Outstanding Player of the regional tournament hosted by Calvin last weekend. She was also named to the All-MIAA first team and was selected to the all-tournament team of the Wittenberg Fall Classic earlier in the fall.
Klaasen Named MIAA Athlete of the Week
Monday, November 12, 2012
Calvin’s Samantha Klaasen, a senior from Holland (Holland Christian HS), secured a spot in next March’s NCAA regionals in one-meter diving Friday with a score of 258.14 points in a nonconference meet against NCAA Division II power Wayne State. Klaasen is being honored as Athlete of the Week for the first time in her career.
Volleyball Survives Five Set Match Against Mount Union, WIll Meet Wittenberg in Regional Finals
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Photo by Paul Evans, Story by Mitch Blankespoor
GRAND RAPIDS – The Calvin College volleyball team was pushed to the limit in an NCAA III second round matchup with Mount Union (Oh.). Calvin prevailed, winning the five set thriller by scores of 25-12, 23-25, 25-21, 24-26 and 25-6. Calvin was led by Lizzie Kamp who recorded a career-high 29 kills on 70 attack attempts. Rietema dished out a career-high 67 assists while chipping in 15 blocks. She along with three other Knights tallied double-digit digs for the match. Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian) tallied 17 kills, two errors on 34 attempts, good for a .441 hitting percentage. Senior Nicole Snyder led Mount Union with 10 kills in defeat.Top ranked Calvin (30-2) will face second-ranked Wittenberg (27-4) in the regional final match Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Wittenberg defeated Hope in straight sets earlier in the day. This will mark the third consecutive year Calvin and Wittenberg have met in the regional finals. Wittenberg defeated Calvin in four sets en route to its national championship a season ago. In 2010, Calvin defeated Wittenberg in four sets en route to its national championship.
Calvin Postmatch Audio Interview
NCAA III Volleyball Regional Website
Men’s Soccer Falls to DePauw 3-0 in NCAA III Tournament First Round Game
Friday, November 09, 2012
Story by Mark DeHaan
RIVER FOREST, IL - Calvin College men’s soccer traveled to Dominican University for first round NCAA Division III Tournament action against DePauw University Friday afternoon. Unfortunately for Calvin, a 1st minute goal by DePauw and an inability to find the back of the net doomed the Knights as they fell 3-0. The loss ended the careers of arguably the most successful class in Calvin soccer history. Seniors Nick Holtrop, Joe Broekhuizen, Dan Nederhoed, Jared Rushlau, Trevor Bushouse and Chris Nance made it to the National Tournament all four years of their Calvin careers, advancing to the national final twice and the quarterfinals once. Calvin ends its season with a record of 16-4-1.
Volleyball Defeats Heidelberg in Straight Sets in NCAA III Tournament First Round Match
Friday, November 09, 2012
Photo by Paul Evans, Story by Mitch Blankespoor
GRAND RAPIDS – The Calvin College women’s volleyball team opened up NCAA III Tournament play with a three set victory of Heidelberg University by scores of 25-15, 25-13, 25-17. Calvin hit a blistering .373 for the match. The Knights defense held Heidelberg to under a .100 hitting percentage for the match using seven blocks to do so. Four Knights totaled double-digits in digs. Lizzie Kamp paced Calvin scoring 14 kills. Rietema dished out 29 assists while recording three block assists. Calvin (29-2) will face off against Mount Union (27-6) at 7:00 p.m. The Purple Raiders defeated Medaille College in straight sets. The first matchup of the day will feature the Wittenberg Tigers (26-4) against the Flying Dutch of Hope College (29-4) at 4:30 p.m. Wittenberg defeated Ohio Northern in straight sets while Hope defeated Otterbein in straight sets.
NCAA III Regional Website at Calvin
Lizzie Kamp Named to Capital One Academic All-District 6 Team in Volleyball
Thursday, November 08, 2012
Capital One Academic All-District Volleyball Teams
For the second consecutive year, Calvin’s Lizzie Kamp has been named to the Capital One Academic All-District 6 team in women’s volleyball at the Division III level. As a member of the Capital One All-District 6 team, Kamp is now eligible for Capital One Academic All-America consideration. Kamp carries a 3.69 grade point average. She is majoring in accounting. During her career, she has been named to the All-MIAA first team team three times and to the Great Lakes All-Region team four teams. As a freshman, she was named the Great Lakes Regional Freshman of the Year. Last year was named to the the AVCA Division III All-America second team.
Amber Warners Named AVCA Division III Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year
Thursday, November 08, 2012
For the second consecutive year and for the fourth time in her career, Calvin head volleyball coach Amber Warners has been named the Division III Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. A native of Holland, Warners has continued her success into her 11th year as head coach of the Calvin College volleyball team. The Knights finished the 2012 season 28-2, sweeping through their conference with a 16-0 record and claiming the MIAA Conference Championship. They head into the NCAA Tournament ranked in the top spot in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll.Warners is currently in her 12th year as a head collegiate volleyball coach which includes 11 years at Calvin and one year as interim coach at Hope (1994). Heading into the weekend, Warners is 345-70 (.831) as a collegiate volleyball coach and 324-59 (.846) at Calvin. Heading into the 2012 season, Warners was ranked second among active Division III coaches among winning percentage and 14th among all coaches at any NCAA (I, II or III) level.Warners also won the Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year Award in 2006 and 2008 as well as last year.
Mens Basketball Nipped By Ferris State 63-62 in Exhibition
Tuesday, November 06, 2012
BIG RAPIDS - The Calvin men’s basketball team faced off against Ferris State in an exhibition game Tuesday evening. Calvin fell behind 43-23 at halftime, but battled back to within a single point. The Knights had two shots to win the game, but fell to the Bulldogs 63-62. Several Knights scored in double figures. Junior center Tyler Kruis led the Knights with 15 points and five rebounds. Junior Mickey De Vries tallied 11 points and eight rebounds. Seniors Bryan Powell and Tom Snikkers as well as sophomore Jordan Brink added ten points apiece. Calvin will open up its season November 16, when it faces Grace Bible College in the Calvin Tip-Off Tourney.
