Calvin women’s volleyball team topped Johnson and Wales University in the NCAA quarterfinals, but were defeated+ by Wittenberg University in the semifinals on November 17.

The Knights played against Johnson and Wales University Wildcats on November 16 at the Van Noord Arena. Before the match began, the Wildcats were the only undefeated volleyball team in Division III, boasting a 35-1 overall record.

Calvin gave the Johnson and Wales their first defeat at the NCAA tournament by winning three sets clean (25-21, 25-19, 26-24). The Knights closed the seasons 30-4 overall, with a perfect 16-0 MIAA record for the third year in a row.

The first set against the Wildcats went back and forth. Early on in the set, the Knights and Wildcats traded points, but the Knights took hold of the game and scored five consecutive points served by Keilahna Castillo putting the score at 10-4. The Wildcats pushed back and tied the score at 14-14. Calvin found a small lead, but again gave a few points away, tying the score at 19-19. From there, the Knights advanced to victory by making few mistakes, ending at 25-21.

The second set went back and forth as well, and the score was tied at points four, six, and thirteen. Eventually, a successful series of points gave Calvin a lead at 20-15. The Knights maintained the lead, and concluded the second set at 25-19, continuing the momentum of win.

The third set was closer than the previous two sets— the score was tied 21 times. At 21-21, the Wildcats scored four points while giving away two points, setting the score at 23-21. From there, both teams tied at 24-24, but the Knights earned two points straight, with two kills by Van Laare winning the set and the match.

The Knights had a hitting percentage of .218, compared to Johnson and Wales’ .096 hitting average.

When asked about the game, coach Dr. Amber Warners replied, “I thought it was one of the most intense, well-played volleyball matches for us of the year. Anything we threw at them, it seemed like they just dug it up. What I loved about our side was I thought we were very resilient and very patient and we played really good defense.”

The Knights faced off the Wittenberg University Tigers the next day for the semifinals. The Tigers cut off the Knights at the NCAA semifinals with a set score of 3-0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-17).

The Tigers pushed hard the first set, starting with a four point lead at 8-4 early in the set. A timeout was called by the Knights, but the Tigers widened the gap to 11-4. Calvin narrowed the gap by five points at 22-19 late into the game, but Wittenberg scored three points straight to close out the first match.

The second set began similarly, with the Tigers taking an early 8-4 lead, resulting in a Calvin timeout. This time, the Knights gained some momentum, pushing the score to 11-9. From there, the Tigers pushed the score to 16-11, which forced out another Calvin timeout. Both teams scored three points each, after which Wittenberg called for a timeout. In the remaining minutes of the second set, the Tigers successfully pushed a 6-3 run to finish out the second set.

The Knights began the third set strongly, with 3-0 lead, which forced an early timeout from the Tigers. Soon afterwards, the Tigers tied the score at 4-4. Eventually the Tigers pushed to a two-point lead at 11-9. This lead grew larger to five points at 19-14. The Knights were never fully able to recover the lead at the beginning, and a 6-3 run by the Tigers finished the set and the match.

On this match, Dr. Warners replied, “I would like to say congratulations to Wittenberg. I thought they outplayed us, they stayed in system longer and did a really nice job. I thought it was their night and give all the credit to them.”

The Knights had a hitting percentage of .149, compared to the Tiger’s .327 hitting average.

This concludes the women’s volleyball team’s season.

Quotes courtesy Calvin Sports Information