Tigers Drop Opener Of NCAC/MIAA Challenge To Calvin

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Each year, the best teams in the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) and the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) get together for a weekend of great women's volleyball. Once again in 2024, the event features some of the best teams in the Great Lakes Region, including the host Calvin Knights.

Ranked 18th in the country by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) in its latest poll, Calvin took down Wittenberg on the opening night of the NCAC/MIAA Challenge for a second straight year. In 2023, the Knights were ranked in the top-five nationally but were pushed to four sets by the Tigers. This time, Calvin took control of things early en route to a 3-0 sweep.

The set scores of 25-11, 25-19, 25-21 show that the Tigers did improve as the match went along. The Tigers attacked at a negative percentage in the first set, followed by a respectable .207 in the seonc set and .138 in the final frame.

Individually, freshman Clare O'Malley (Avon, OH St. Joseph's Academy) continued her hot start with a team-best 10 kills. She also finished with two blocks, matching the totals registered by Kait Colahan (Vermilion, OH / Vermilion) and Sam Fincham (Springfiel, Ohio / Kenton Ridge) in that category. Fincham added five kills on a team-high 28 swings in her first match after suffering a preseason injury, and Alana Bartulovic (Cleveland, OH / Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) added five kills on 11 attack attempts without an error.

Freshman setter Mary Sulfridge (South Charleston, OH / Southeastern) handed out 20 assts to lead the way for the Tigers, while Cam Colahan (Vermilion, OH / Vermilion) was top in digs with 10. Sulfridge also chipped in to the defensive effort with eight digs.