No. 1 Calvin 3, No. 15 Chicago 0
No. 1 Calvin 3, No. 6 Elmhurst
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- The top-ranked Knights beat Chicago in the final match for the Midwest Challenge on Saturday to remain the only undefeated team in the nation. Calvin swept Chicago with scores of 25-11, 25-12, 25-16.
The Knights hit .341 overall against Chicago with .500 in the second and .467 in the third. Sophomore Maggie Kamp led all players with 15 kills and added six digs with a .517 hitting percentage with no errors.
Calvin opened the day with a 25-14, 25-16, 25-19 victory against Elmhurst. A year ago at the same tournament, the Bluejays handed Calvin one of its three losses on the season.
Calvin received 14 kills in the win from Maggie Kamp while Ellie Diepersloot had nine kills and Emily Crowe and Megan Rietema six kills apiece. Rietema added 29 assists and seven digs while Maggie Kamp and freshman Laura Danhoff each had one block solo and three block assists.
No. 2 Hope 3, No. 7 Mount Union 0
HOLLAND, Mich. -- Second-ranked Hope completed a rugged run through the Midwest Challenge they co-hosted this weekend, going 4-0 after a three-set sweep of Mount Union on Saturday afternoon.
The Flying Dutch (23-1 overall) defeated their seventh-ranked foe 25-16, 25-17, 25-16 in front of a DeVos Fieldhouse crowd of 405.
Mount Union (22-3) was the fourth nationally-ranked opponent Hope beat over two days.
Junior Jenna Grasmeyer of Jenison totaled a match-high 13 kills.
No. 2 Hope 3, No. 13 Wittenberg 2
HOLLAND, Mich. -- Second-ranked Hope rallied to edge No. 13 Wittenberg in five sets on Saturday during the second day of the Midwest Volleyball Challenge at DeVos Fieldhouse.
The Flying Dutch (22-1 overall) came back from a 2-1 deficit to win 25-16, 19-25, 22-25, 25-23, 15-13. The match was the second this season to go the distance for Hope and in a row. The Flying Dutch won a five-set marathon against No. 6-ranked Elmhurst on Friday night.
Junior outside hitter Jenna Grasmeyer of Jenison topped Hope with 15 kills.
Junior outside hitter Anna Lynch of Lake Odessa chipped in 12 kills, while senior middle hitter Courtney Earles of Kentwood and junior outside hitter Amy VanderStoep of Holland added 11 kills apiece.
No. 6 Elmhurst 3, Heidelberg 0
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Elmhurst snapped their two-game slide with a convincing 25-18, 25-17, 25-9 win against Heidelberg.
Elmhurst broke open a 5-5 tie in the first set with a 10-4 run before pulling away for the 25-18 win. The Bluejays used a 12-5 run in the second set to break an 8-8 tie en route to a 25-17 win. The Bluejays ran away with the third set, scoring eight of the first 10 points en route to the 25-9 win.
Novak led the Bluejays with 12 kills and seven digs. Reynolds pounded down 11 kills and tallied three blocks. Sam Szarmach and Wilks added six kills apiece for the Bluejays. Jackie Pavilonis added five kills while Nimrick totaled five kills and 13 assists. Lauren Lorenz added a team-leading 15 assists while Hannah Lessen totaled a team-leading 10 digs.
No. 8 Juniata 3, Mary Washington 1
Salisbury 3, No. 8 Juniata 2
SALISBURY, Md. -- Juniata came back to defeat Mary Washington 3-1 (22-25, 25-18, 25-8, 25-13) before dropping a tough match to Salisbury 3-2 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 15-13) on the final day of the Sea Gull Classic. Juniata freshmen Kelly Reynolds and Nakita Gearhart earned all-tournament honors for their performances during the weekend.
In the first match of the day, Mary Washington took a 1-0 lead before the Juniata came storming back. Senior Courtney Lydick hammered out a match-high 17 kills off a .577 attack percentage. Sophomore Bryce Arnold was strong once again, hitting for a .706 average and nailing down 12 kills.
In the final match of the tournament, the Eagles grinded through an even first set, taking the final three points for the 1-0 lead. The Sea Gulls came back with an early 10-5 lead and closed out the second set to tie the match at 1-1. Freshman Brittanie Tannenbaum fired off five of Juniata's 16 service aces. Gearhart led the Eagles with 15 kills and Lydick, and junior Amelia Kepler also finished the match with double-digit kills.
Salisbury took the 2-1 lead, but the Eagles fought back to force a decisive fifth set. The shortened final set was tied six different times before the Sea Gulls earned the final three points for the upset win.
No. 9 Colorado College 3, Centenary (La.) 0
No. 9 Colorado College 3, Dallas 0
SHREVEPORT, La. -- Colorado College rolled to a 25-15, 25-10, 25-14 victory against Centenary (La.) on Saturday morning, then came back in the next match to post a 25-17, 26-24, 25-10 triumph against Dallas.
Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Hahn tied her career high with 16 kills while hitting a career-best .615 against Centenary. Sophomore outside hitter Emily Phillips hit .600 with seven kills on 10 swings with only one error and recorded three of the team's nine service aces. Freshman setter Rebecca Watson played the final two sets and finished with 20 assists.
As a team, the Tigers hit .488 (46-6-82), their highest percentage of the season.
Sophomore libero Sophie Merrifield paced the defense with 12 digs, while sophomore rightside hitter Courtney Birkett had a hand in three blocked shots.
In the sweep of the Crusaders, Birkett had a match-high 10 kills to power the CC attack. Freshman middle hitter Keli Sherwood added a season-high five kills on 10 swings.
UD held a 22-20 lead in the second set, but Birkett put down a pair of kills, assisted on one blocked shot and added an assist to ignite a 6-2 run that closed out the set. Merrifield paced the defense with 18 kills, reaching double digits for the 25th time in 27 matches.
With their eighth consecutive victory, the Tigers improved to 25-1 overall and 9-1 in league play.
No. 10 St. Benedict (Minn.) 3, Luther (Iowa) 0
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. -- Junior Sophie Stangl and sophomore Mary Franz led St. Benedict to a 3-1 win against Luther, carrying the offense in the team's 15th sweep of the season.
"I think we just had a really awesome week of practice," Franz said of their preparation. "We really focused on just having fun together and playing more as a team. We've spent a lot of time really getting closer as a team this week."
The team's top two middle blockers, they combined for a total of 17 kills, half of the Blazers 34 on the night. Franz finished with a team-high 10 kills while Stangl added another seven. Both players also finished above the .400 mark in hitting percentage, led by Franz with a .714 percentage, while Stangl posted a mark of .462. They were the only two players to finish above the .200 mark.
