Volleyball Tops UW-Oshkosh in Three to Advance to Regional Final
-- Story provided by Calvin University Athletics --
GRAND RAPIDS - The Calvin volleyball team advanced to the NCAA Tournament Regional Final with a 3-0 win over fourth-seeded UW-Oshkosh by the scores of 25-22, 25-15 and 25-14.
Both teams came out of the gates with a lot of energy in the opening set as the two teams combined for 60 digs and made life difficult on the hitters on each side to get the ball down.
Leading 21-20 late in the set, Heidi Westra (Clarendon Hills, Ill./Timothy Christian) helped push the Knights over the top with a pair of kills in the final points to secure a 1-0 lead for Calvin.
The Knights would find their groove from there, hitting .552 in the second set and .480 in the third as they cruised to the sweep.
Calvin finished the match hitting .381 on the attack and recorded only seven hitting errors in 105 total attempts. Westra led the team with 15 kills, while Maria Bos (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) finished with 12 kills to go with 17 digs. Gabriella Kellogg (Belleville, Mich./Plymouth Christian Academy) and Vanessa Martinez (Hudsonville, Mich./Wyoming) combined for 16 digs without an error.
On defense, Aubrey Wrubel (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) tied Bos for the team lead with 17 digs and became the eighth player in program history to record at least 1,500 career digs.
Alyssa DeVries led all players with 37 assists to go with 11 digs for her 12th double-double of the season.
Calvin improved to 27-3 on the season with the win. UW-Oshkosh fell to 30-6 to close its season in defeat.
COACH'S COMMENT: "I thought that we served really well. We passed really well. That allowed us to stay in system, and I thought Alyssa (DeVries) did a good job mixing things up," Calvin head coach Amber Warners said.
"I think our hitters were very smart in what they did," Warners continued. "They hit pretty much all over the place. They tip-and-rolled when they needed it. I think we just did a really nice job of reading the block."
Volleyball Downs Another Top 10 Foe, Will Play for NCAA Regional Title
-- Story provided by Hope College Athletics --
Hope College volleyball coach Becky Schmidt has faith in Jenna Core.
Even when the senior outside hitter was struggling through the first three sets on Friday in the NCAA Division III regional semifinal, Schmidt put Core back out there in the biggest match of the season.
Core (Spring Lake, Mich. | Spring Lake HS) came through with seven huge kills in the final set as the Flying Dutch continued their postseason run with a 3-1 win over 10th-ranked Washington University in St. Louis at Calvin University.
"Going into the fourth set, she was hitting .148," Schmidt said of Core's attack percentage. "We had some really good hitting percentages from some other people. I said to Lauren (Lee), 'Let's go with JC a little bit'. It's about creating opportunities. That's exactly what JC did. The situation she was in going into the fourth set, she didn't let dictate how she was going to handle that fourth set. That's resilience. That's the kind of stuff you expect from a senior."
The Flying Dutch (23-7) advance to play third-ranked Calvin in a 5 p.m. regional final on Saturday, Nov.12. The winner moves onto the national quarterfinals next week in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
This is Hope's third consecutive appearance in a regional final.
On Friday, Hope beat WashU 25-21, 17-25, 25-21 and 25-20. The sixth-seeded Flying Dutch now have beaten No. 9 Wittenberg and No. 10 WashU in regional play.
Core finished with 13 kills and an attack percentage of .270. As a team, Hope was .301.
"Our passers and our setter, Lauren Lee, put me in a great position," Core said. "Lauren was doing a good job of mixing it up. The blockers didn't really know where she was going with it. That gave me opportunities to do what I could do around the block."
Sophomore outside hitter Annie Lockett (Mason, Ohio / William Mason) had a team-high 22 kills and an attack percentage of .459.
Senior middle blocker Charlotte Brecht (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan / Grosse Pointe South ) added 11 kills.
Lee (Plymouth, Michigan / Ann Arbor Skyline) finished with 55 assists.
"It's awesome to see everything connecting at this point in the season," Lockett said. "We worked hard all season. To get this opportunity is huge. Seeing our team coming together and having everything click, is huge."
Calvin (27-3) won both meetings this season. On Friday, the Knights defeated 12th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in three sets.
Tickets can be purchased at the door. Ticket prices are $6 for general admission, $4 for senior citizens, members of the military and students and $3 for children ages three-to-12. Children under three are admitted free.
Hope lost twice to Calvin University during the regular season.
"When we got the invitation into the tournament, we were just excited to be able to have one more practice," Schmidt said. "And then the next practice together and then another opportunity to play. So we're thankful for every opportunity we get to get on that court together. I will always take one more chance to play Calvin."
