The Calvary Warriors traveled to Minneapolis this weekend to compete against Oak Hills, Crown College, Trinity Bible College, and North Central University. The quadrangular schedule allowed the Warriors a full weekend of volleyball to improve their skills and play against opponents outside of their conference. The Warriors won three out of their four matches and came away with a 3-1 record and 6-2 on the season.
On Friday, the Warriors took on Oak Hills and secured a 3-0 victory. “I’m thankful that all the girls had an opportunity to play,” Head Coach Jojo Wilkes said. “I was able to position players in different places than they normally play, growing the individual’s skill. We were able to show ourselves strong and pull out the win in three sets.” The Warriors served tough; leaving the game with 10 aces. Jillian Nipple and Basia Nesbett-Tucker got the offense running with 11 assists each. Haley Arneson led the team with 9 kills and Kenleigh Elder followed close behind.
Calvary University vs. Oak Hills
Set 1: 25-8
Set 2: 25-15
Set 3: 25-5
Friday evening, the Calvary Warriors faced off against Crown College. It was a competitive match. In the first set, Calvary found themselves in an early hole. Down 17-9, the Warriors began to clean up their hitting errors, Jillian Nipple spread the offense getting kills from Elle Davis and Haley Arneson. The Calvary Warriors went on a 10-2 run regaining the lead and allowing the team to take the first set. The second and third set was close as both teams battled to take the lead. Jillian Nipple led the Calvary Warriors to a 3-0 sweep with 31 assists, and 15 digs. Alli Edwards and Miriam McCubbin stopped the attack of Crown College with 23 digs each. Kenleigh Elder led the team with her hot arm ending the game with 10 kills. “We did well playing from behind twice and coming through with the win in three straight sets,” Coach Jojo Wilkes said. “Overall, we showed what Calvary volleyball is about; we fight, we work hard, and don’t quit.”
Calvary University vs. Crown College
Set 1: 25-23
Set 2: 25-21
Set 3: 25-23
Saturday Morning, the Calvary Warriors faced off against North Central. In the first set, the Warriors fought hard and started with an early lead that they weren’t able to hold on to as errors began to pile up. North Central played a clean and tough match pulling out the win in the first set. In the second set, the Warriors struggled to get traction and momentum. They fought hard, but the errors compounded on top of each other. Not wanting to lose three straight sets the Warriors rallied with an early lead in the third set, but the attack and serve of North Central was too much for the team to handle, resulting in losing all three sets. “We played well and fought hard,” Head Coach Jojo Wilkes said. “The reason we weren’t in the sets was because of a lot of unforced errors on our part. We were in each set, the players were finding gaps in North Central’s defense and scoring on them. In the end, it just came down to North Central having fewer errors than we did.”
Calvary University vs. North Central
Set 1: 23-25
Set 2: 15-25
Set 3: 20-25
Exhausted from the weekend, the Warriors traveled back to Crown College to face their final opponent, Trinity Bible College. “We played well. We won in three, we did what we were supposed to do,” Coach Jojo Wilkes said. “I didn’t see one player stand out in the match, but rather the team fought very well together and collectively rallied to victory.” Throughout the match, Coach Jojo continually reminded the players that both teams were tired. They had to make more effort and communicate at a higher level because of the exhaustion they were feeling. With the players listening and acting on Coach Jojo’s advice, they were able to defeat Trinity 3-0.
Calvary University vs. Trinity
Set 1: 25-14
Set 2: 25-20
Set 3: 25-19
The Calvary Warriors left the weekend having won three of their four matches. “I wish we could have taken one or two sets from the North Central game. Besides that, we played really well and I’m proud of how hard the girls fought.” Coach Jojo Wilkes commented as she reflected on the weekend. The Calvary Warriors will now prepare to play their second conference match against Faith Baptist Bible College, on Friday, September 15th.