
HOLLAND, Mich. -- A rematch of the 2010 national championship match will be served up Friday afternoon in the semifinal round of the NCAA III volleyball championships being played through Saturday at DeVos Fieldhouse on the campus of Hope College.
No. 1-ranked Calvin College (33-1) will take on No. 7 Emory (34-4) at 5 p.m. ET Friday in the first of two semifinal matches. The championship match is set for 7 p.m. Saturday. Calvin, which suffered its only loss of the season in this building, dropping a five-set match to the No. 2-ranked Hope Flying Dutch in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association action, beat UMass-Boston 3-1 in Thursdayâs quarterfinals, while Emory defeated Eastern 3-0.
Emory and Calvin feature similar attacks as they are led by active, athletic, All-American setters Sydney Miles and Megan Rietema, respectively. Miles, a sophomore, is a two-time All-American, while Rietema, a senior, has been named this yearâs Player of the Year.âEmory is one of the few teams in the nation that is really like us in the terms of their make-up,â said Calvin College coach Amber Warners. âThey have an attaching setter, theyâre big, theyâre tall and they do things well.
âAt this point, you bring your âAâ game or youâre going home,â Warners continued. âI have said it all along to the team, we have to focus on whatâs on our side of the net. Stick to the game plan. Weâve watched film and weâre prepared, but when it comes right down to it, we have to pass. We have to serve aggressively and set up a tough block. We have to focus point-for-point and let the results take care of themselves.â
While Emory won the NCAA III national championship in 2008, the Eagles lost to Calvin College in the 2010 national championship match. DeVos Fieldhouse is located some 30 miles from the Knightsâ campus in Grand Rapids, so the Eagles expect a partisan crowd.
âAmber [Warners] is just a fantastic coach and they are obviously a great program,â Emory coach Jenny McDowell said. âWe played them in 2010 and lost to them in the championship final so we know what their crowds are like, but our kids have been playing at a high level for a period of time now, so Iâm assuming weâre going to do that again. Weâre going to be fearless when we play.
âAmber does a great job with that program and they have the player of the year,â McDowell said. "Weâre going to play our game and go out there and go after it. We make adjustments against every opponent who it depends on what we decide we need to do offensively and defensively and then weâll play our game.â