As many other fall seasons for various Calvin athletics teams wrapped up in November, the volleyball team continued to excel; they played into December — all the way to the quarterfinals of the Division 3 (DIII) National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) tournament. This result exceeded expectations, especially after a 0-3 loss to Hope earlier in the year. Even a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) tournament championship was anything but expected.
“In general, I don’t think anyone was expecting us this season to make it past the first round, or even to win the MIAA tournament,” senior Emma Ekblaw said. That’s not to say the Knights haven’t been doing well all year: going into the MIAA tournament, they boasted an impressive 23-3 record. But after the loss against Hope, a “switch flipped” according to both Ekblaw and senior Aerin Baker. Baker added, “We weren’t going to let them walk all over us again.”
After that loss at DeVos Fieldhouse, the Knights went on a run, to say the least. They ultimately would go on to win 16 straight matches, with the run ending in the Elite 8 against the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Their list of accomplishments includes a stretch where they didn’t lose a single set for four games and an MIAA tournament championship where they claimed the title by upsetting Hope 3-1, as well as at momentum surge into the NCAA tournament, where they stunned #2 Illinois Wesleyan 3-2 in a thrilling upset for the regional title, securing an Elite 8 bid.
“The energy in the gym [against Illinois Wesleyan] was just absolutely electric. And we came into that game just having this unshakable belief,” Baker said.
Ekblaw said that the moment they won the final point to clinch the regional final will stick with her forever. “And I’m sure 10, 20, years from now, I’m gonna look at the pictures [from that night] and I’m just going to smile and remember holding up the trophy with those girls and everyone dog piling. That I’m definitely going to remember for the rest of my life.”
According to Ekblaw, the key to getting to this next level of play which sparked the postseason run has been defense and blocking — their blocking didn’t truly reveal its full potential until the postseason. Earlier in the year, the Knights faced opponents who were strong defensively but didn’t challenge them as much at the net, so the block wasn’t often showcased. Once the MIAA tournament arrived, it took off.
Once the defense and blocking started to come together, the culture precedent set at the start of the season really began to shine through. Baker mentioned that it all started when the team bought into each other. She said that at the retreat at the start of the year, the team “focused on our relationships with each other, and then from there, the teamwork and the connection on the court would just kind of come naturally.”
And even though they weren’t able to go all the way to the national championship, as they lost to an elite University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh team, both seniors Ekblaw and Baker emphasized that they believe this year is just the start of good things to come for a volleyball program on the up and coming.
Baker and Ekblaw shared that it was truly special to get to end their careers at Calvin alongside this team following that run. Thinking about the close of the season, Baker reflected: “I wouldn’t have wanted to end my career with anyone else.”
