Match Stats
- #5 Colorado College def. #1 Calvin College 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-22)
- Colorado College moves to 10-0 (11-0 by day’s end), Calvin College falls to 8-3
- Attendance: 50
- Elmhurt Tournament, Elmherst, Illinois
- Match Stats
Little has remained consistent through the first 3 NCAA Division III polls of the 2017 season. That is, except, for Calvin’s near-unanimous spot as the favorites to repeat as champions. They received 62 out of 63 first-place votes in the pre-season poll, and in weeks 2 and 3 received all 67 first place votes.
That could change on Tuesday, however, when the new poll is released after Calvin College were handed their first loss of the season at the hands of Colorado College. The Tigers won the match 3-0, which at day’s end left Colorado College with a perfect 11-0 record, including their first-ever win over a #1 team.
It was a disastrous weekend weekend for the champions from Calvin, meanwhile. Playing at the Elmhurst Tournament in Elmhurst, Illinois, they lost all 3 matches to unranked Aurora, unranked Illinois Wesleyan, and #5 Colorado College, while winning only 1 of the 10 sets they played.
In the big matchup, between Colorado College and Calvin, the Knights lost a tight opening set 25-22, while out-hitting their opponents .297-.273.
While Colorado College was out-hit in the first set, they out-blocked Calvin 4-0 and had 5 service aces in that set alone. In total, Colorado College won in the aces column (9-5) and blocks (8-3).
Haley Harris led the Tigers in kills with 10, to which she added 3 aces and a solo block. Calvin College’s Anna Kamp led the team, as she did in last year’s national championship game, with 12 kills on 27 swings, but also led the team with 5 errors.
Press Releases
Courtesy Colorado College Athletics:
Sparked by a match-high 26 assists from sophomore Lizzy Counts and 10 kills from fellow sophomore Haley Harris, the Colorado College women’s volleyball team stunned the No. 1-ranked Division III team in the country, Calvin College, 25-22, 25-16, 25-22, Saturday at the Elmhurst Invitational.
Colorado College, ranked No. 5 in the nation, then completed a perfect 4-0 weekend and improved to 11-0 overall with a 26-24, 25-21, 22-25, 25-15 victory over Aurora University in the team’s final match of the tournament.
“After battling for five hours on Friday and very little time to recover, we found a way to beat Calvin,” head coach Rick Swan said. “We focused on trying to be as fast as possible and keep them off balance. We really used our depth to win the match.”
With the first set tied at 22-all, Calvin’s Anna Kemp missed a serve, then sophomore Jordan Mullen put the Tigers up 24-22 with one of her eight kills, and sophomore Anna Gurolnick closed out the set with a service ace.
With the second set tied at nine, the Tigers went on a 12-4 run, including three kills by junior Aria Dudley and a pair from Harris. The third set was similar to the first with the Tigers holding a lead of no more than three points. Calvin cut CC’s lead to 23-22, but the Tigers won the final two points to take the match.
Counts and Gurolnick led the Tigers with eight digs apiece, while Harris posted a match-high three aces as the Tigers collected their first-ever victory over a No. 1-ranked team.
In the four-set victory over Aurora, Dudley led the team with 12 kills and a match-high seven block assists, while Counts recorded 48 assists.
Trailing 24-23 in the first set, the Tigers stormed back with kills from Dudley, senior Glenna Yancey and junior Myca Steffey-Bean to win 26-24.
The Tigers never trailed in the second set, winning 25-21, but Aurora battled back to take the third set, 25-22.
CC used a 14-7 run to take a 20-13 lead in the fourth and final set and won the final five points after Aurora cut the lead to 20-15.
Harris led the Tigers with 15 digs, followed by Gurolnick and Counts with 13 apiece.
“We were excited to play some great teams this weekend,” Swan said. “We just focused on one match at a time.”
The Tigers open SCAC play next weekend in Sherman, Texas, with matches against the University of Dallas and Austin College on Saturday, Sept. 23, and Centenary College on Sunday, Sept, 24.
Courtesy Calvin College Athletics:
ELMHURST, Ill. – The Tigers of Colorado College came out on top of a top-five battle on Saturday. The Tigers won, 25-22, 25-16, 25-22. Calvin is now 8-3 on the year and Colorado College improves to 10-0 in 2017.
The Tigers jumped out to a 4-1 lead on the Knights on Saturday. The Knights tied the set at seven with a kill by junior Anna Kamp (Orland Park, Ill./Chicago Christian). The two teams exchanged the lead a few times until the set was tied at 22. The Tigers won the next three points to take the match.
With the second set tied at nine, the Tigers broke open the set with an 11-4 run. Colorado College would go on to take the set at 25-16.
The Knights and Tigers played the third set close from start to finish. The two teams combined for eight ties and three lead changes in the set. Calvin would cut the Colorado College lead to 23-22, but the Tigers would take the next two points to take the match.
Senior Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, Ill./Timothy Christian) led the Knights with 24 assists, Anna Kamp finished with 12 kills, sophomore Sarah DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich./Northpointe Christian) had nine kills. Junior Keilahna Castillo (Grandville, Mich./Grandville) led Calvin with 10 digs.
The Knights return to action on Tuesday at home against Kalamazoo.
Leave a Reply