Calvin Goes On 6-0 Run To End Five-Set Win In NCAA DIII Tournament

2017 NCAA Tournament – Division III

• November 9-18
• First Round
• Bracket/Results

After the first day of play in the 2017 NCAA Division III Tournament, 12 teams move onto the second round of play, with a large number of teams still waiting to begin their post-season play. A small group of 24 of the 64 teams began their tournament one day prior to the rest of the competition. With the first rounds of the competition set to end on November 12, the quarterfinals to finals phase will take place from November 16-18.

In total, there were three five-set matches on day one of the tournament, with Berry College, Covenant and Calvin advancing after fighting through the long match.

During the first round, Calvin was the match that stood out from the rest. Calvin was the expected to win team in the match against Washington-St. Louis. The Knights went up early and easily in the match 2-0 with 25-16 and 25-15 scores but faltered in the next two sets 20-25, 23-25. This forced a fifth set, that didn’t look like it would land their way as the Bears went up 14-10 after a 7-1 run.

The Knights cut the fifth-set deficit after a Tessa Van Laare kill, leaving Jenna Lodweyk to serve out the remainder of the set. A ball handling error from the Bears brought the score to 14-12, while a kill from Sydney Segard and a hitting error from Washington-St. Louis tied things up at 14 all. Sarah DeVries broke the tie with a kill followed by a Bears hitting error to close things out 16-14 Calvin. The Knights finished off the set on a 6-0 run with the odds stacked against them to move onto the second set.

First Round Scores

• Calvin def. Washington-St. Louis 3-2, (25-16, 25-15, 25-20, 25-23, 16-14)
• Northwestern def. Cornell 3-0, (25-21, 25-18, 25-18)
• UW-La Crosse def. Saint Benedict 3-1, (23-25, 25-17, 25-14, 25-13)
• Gustavus def. Aurora 3-1, (23-25, 25-15, 27-25, 25-15)
• Millikin def. Greenville 3-0, (25-10, 25-15, 25-9)
• Carthage def. Concordia Wisconsin 3-1, (25-23, 25-16, 14-25, 25-20)
• Illinois Wesleyan def. Chicago 3-0, (25-15, 25-14, 25-19)
• Emory def. Worchester State 3-0, (25-12, 25-13, 25-14)
• Covenant def. Birmingham Southern 3-2, (25-20, 22-25, 17-25, 26-24, 15-13)
• Berry def. Hanover 3-2, (25-22, 27-25, 22-25, 19-25, 15-3)