Calvin bounces UMass Boston

Calvin 3, UMass Boston 1 The trees from Calvin stood tall, attacking their way to a 25-21, 25-10, 17-25, 25-17 win. The back row for both teams had a tough time digging, and that’s something Calvin will need to improve in its match against Juniata tomorrow. But Calvin essentially has five 6-footers on the floor at all times, and the Knights often hit over the block to a clean floor. Whether it was the All-America Kamps (Rebecca and Lizzie), Erin VanderPlas or Renee DeHaan, 6-foot-1 setter Megan Rietema found the hitters often enough, proving her worth as the AVCA Freshman of the Year. When Calvin was in-system, it was a termination festival from the crew from Grand Rapids, Mich. However, like most teams, Calvin got a little raggedy when the pass wasn’t there, which was rather frequently late in the match. But that’s nitpicking a team that hit .303. That written, the Knights will have to play better tomorrow.

UMass Boston was out of system far too often to beat a team as talented as Calvin, but Beacon sophomore 1st-Team All-America Shannon Thompson showed off her strong right arm. The problems for UMB were Thompson was basically the only Beacon player set for most of the day, and the UMB block just didn’t have the height to match the Knights hitting high hands or straight down with bounce. The Beacon offense was like lightning when it was in-system and Thompson was in the front row. Everyone, including a guy sitting at a computer in Wisconsin, knew Thompson was getting the ball, but Calvin sometimes couldn’t do anything about it, even with two 6-footers in Thompson’s grill. But the game centers around passing, and the Beacons had a tough time with that today.

-Ricky Nelson