by Jeanette Regier | Nov 16, 2019
The Warriors came out strong from the start and never looked back as Calvary won their first game in Canada with a 79-65 victory over the Providence University College Pilots.
“It was a war out there tonight,” Head Coach Matt Sander said. “Our guys really endured a lot of contact on every possession. This allowed PUC to stay close as the game went on, but it also caused us to have to battle through some really tough situations and still be mentally tough enough to do what it took to win the game.”
Calvary won the only matchup between the two North Region opponents last year when Providence made the trek down to Kansas City. The Warriors wanted to show how they had matured over the last year and are now able to win tough games on the road.
“This was a huge win for our team,” guard Jay Lems said. “We battled through a ton of adversity during
the game.”
“Our defense improved as the game went along,” Sanders said. “For the most part, we did a great job of communicating and closing out on shooters and not giving up many open looks. The key for us tonight was that we were able to get contributions from a lot of people. It was a total team effort and I’m proud of the way we played.”
With the win, the Warriors move to 3-2 on the season and will be back in action Saturday afternoon as they play Trinity Bible College in Ellendale, ND.
by Jeanette Regier | Oct 26, 2019
Another win is in the books as The Warriors defeated rival Barclay College 3-2 on Saturday afternoon. The Warriors gave the fans their money’s worth today. The Pyramid was full of fans that were wanting to be there to support Esther Schwarze for her Senior Day.
The first set didn’t fare so well for the Warriors. “We struggled with a few of their servers,” stated Head Coach Ashley Spicer. The team started out with multiple errors in the net or out of bounds. Still, the Warriors remained within striking distance as Barclay led 15-14. The Warriors weren’t able to overcome the Bears momentum at the end of the set losing 25-16 going down 0-1 in the match.
In the second set, the Warriors started with the serve and gained momentum with some big swings from Esther Schwarze. Anna Holloway, and Tori Veltkamp both helped control the front line. An uncontested kill from Holloway set the Warriors on fire. The Warriors continued their run before forcing Barclay to call a timeout. The timeout couldn’t slow CU as they were in a huge battle that eventually led to a 27-25 Calvary win.
The third set was another thriller as points went back and forth. Esther Schwarze and Anna Holloway kept the Warriors in the lead with powerful kills as CU held the upper hand in a tight set. Serving was a big boost in this set with Jenny Her getting three important aces during important times to preserve momentum. The Warriors built a 26-25 advantage and got a huge 27-25 win off of a great side-out play.
The Bears came clawing back in the fourth set as they built a large lead 15-5. “We had numerous unforced errors at the net towards the beginning of that set,” stated Spicer. “We didn’t give ourselves much of a chance to fight back when we made unforced errors at the net.” Spicer called timeouts and the Warriors had some answers, but momentum went to Barclay and they never relinquished it winning 25-13.
After the humbling fourth set, the Warriors fought hard against Barclay to take a lead coming out in the decisive fifth set. Schwarze started CU off strong in serving. Holloway did a great job on the attack in the final set with six kills and an attack percentage of 42%. The set was extremely close. The Warrior faithful went crazy as Holloway ended some magnificent points with emphatic kills. Holloway finished the match with a kill as the Warriors won 15-13 to win the match 3-2.
“This was a good growth game for us because it did push us,” Coach Spicer said. “Barclay beat us earlier this season. It is always good to turn things around. Jenny had a great match for us, holding our defense together in order to keep our front row in system.”
Anna Holloway and Esther Schwarze led the Warriors with 19 and 9 kills respectively Jenny Her protected the team with 22 digs. The Warriors begin play in The MCCC Tournament next Friday in Haviland, KS.
by Jeanette Regier | Oct 26, 2019
After a disappointing loss on the 15th, the Calvary Warriors held a clean sheet Friday afternoon as the team defeated Barclay College 3-0 in Kansas City, MO. With the win, the Warriors improve to 5-7 on the season. Ethan Zeeryp finished the game with his third shutout of the year.
“Our guys played great today as a team,” Warrior Head Coach Daniel Nichols said. “It was good to have some patience offensively in the attacking third. We had 29 shots to their three.” “Today’s game was hard-fought,” said Senior Noah Wittenbach. “I am so proud of the team for honoring our seniors and the Lord with the win today.”
In the opening minutes, the Warriors were able to move the ball towards the Barclay net thanks to some good combination play. The Warriors seemed poised as they controlled possession and found open players. Oscar Palafox had a shot glance off the crossbar and barely miss at the ten-minute mark. The only goal of the first half was scored by Palafox a few minutes later when he fired a shot that found the top corner of the net off an assist from Noah Wittenbach at the 17-minute mark. The Warriors led 1-0 at the break.
During halftime, the team honored all five Calvary seniors for the impact they have had on the program during their time at CU. Masaki Ouch (3 years), Noah Wittenbach (4 years), Micah Wildasin (3 years), Josh Tomlinson (2 years), and Ian Montgomery (2 years).
The Warriors came out in the second half looking to increase their lead but were sluggish at the start. They slowly regained some momentum and in the 63rd minute, Palafox was able to play the ball past the goalie off a punt assist from Zeeryp. The third goal of the day came after Barclay cleared a ball out in the 84th minute. Ian Montgomery was able to put a screamer into the back of the net from 35 feet out for his first career goal. This was the exclamation point on the shutout as the Warriors defeated the Bears 3-0.
“Chris ODaniels was terrific for us today,” Nichols said. “He went from Center Mid to Stopper and did a great job of stopping Barclay’s offensive threats and setting up his teammates.”
Friday’s win was a big confidence booster for the Warriors. Next up, CU will be back in action on the 31st as they begin play in the Midwest Christian College Conference Tournament.
by Jeanette Regier | Oct 6, 2019
Calvary University Men’s Soccer went into Saturday’s game looking to win and did just that coming out with a 3-0 victory against Concordia Seminary. From the opening moments of the game, the Warriors showed the improvements that they had been working on in last week’s practices. “This week in practice we highlighted passing the ball out of pressure instead of dribbling into pressure,” said Coach Josh Henderson. “That definitely showed in today’s game.” “We had some good chemistry on offense today,” stated Senior midfielder Masaki Ouchi. The Warriors took control of the ball from the start of the game, pressing the ball up the field. In the 4th minute, Clay Williams shot the ball into the back of the net off of an intercepted pass to put the Warriors up 1-0.
The Warriors continued to be relentless with good ball movement from defense to offense to put themselves in scoring position. “Micah Wildasin made an impact on the game by pushing the ball up into the attack and supporting the attack,” said Coach Henderson. “Josh Tomlinson, Ian Montgomery, and Chris O’Daniels did a fantastic job in the middle of the field intercepting and distributing the ball as well.” In the 26th minute, Calvary increased the score once again. Clay Williams assisted Oscar Palafox who advanced the ball into the goalkeeper box and fired a shot into the upper 90. This put the Warriors up 2-0 heading into the half.
The Warriors carried their momentum into the second half, continuing their improved ball movement and attacks. In the 60th minute, Oscar Palafox crossed the ball from the right flank to Clay Williams who had an impressive header into the goal. This put the Warriors up 3-0 over Concordia. By the end of the game, Ethan Zeeryp had recorded his first clean sheet of the season with eight saves. The defense of the Warriors was also outstanding throughout the entire game, allowing the Warriors a final score of 3-0. “We were excellent in passing, communication, and movement off the ball,” said Head Coach Daniel Nichols. “It was encouraging to see our improvement on the field today.”
The Warriors will next be at home Tuesday afternoon against Union College.
by Jeanette Regier | Oct 4, 2019
The Lady Warriors stalled briefly, but the team bounced right back as they defeated the Faith Eagles 3-1 to win their 3rd straight match to improve to 5-6 this season.
“We were able to gain an advantage with our serve receive,” Warriors Head Coach Ashley Spicer said. “We had three reception errors, but were able to force them into eighteen reception errors. That helped us do a good job of coming back to take it in four.”
The Lady Warriors were coming off a three-set sweep on Tuesday night as the team picked up their first home win of the season against Kansas Christian College. The Eagles came out strong at the start of the match as the first set was extremely close before Faith edged Calvary 27-29.
In the second set, the Warriors had been challenged in the huddle about the crucial six serving errors and the inconsistent passing that had caused them to lose set one. The team came out determined to fix their serving and defense, and they did in a strong way. Kennedy Shelton had her best serving game tonight and led the team with seven aces. Esther Schwarze was just one behind when the smoke died down from the evening with six aces. The Warriors wouldn’t be denied as they took the 2nd set 25-12.
The Warriors continued to make adjustments and charged ahead in the third set. Although the Eagles made several short runs, the Warriors continued to maintain a comfortable lead. The third set was clinched as the Warriors took it 25-18.
With victory within their grasp in set four Calvary faltered a bit, The Eagles jumped out and took an early 5-15 lead. “In the fourth set Faith came out with some strong servers and adjusted their defense, which threw us out of rhythm. It took some aggressive front row attacks and serving runs to gain our momentum back,” said Coach Spicer. In the end great passing, improved offensive timing, and solid serving led Calvary to a 25-23 victory.
“In earlier matches this season we weren’t as efficient at fixing our play,” Coach Spicer said. “Tonight I felt like we adjusted really well after serving poorly in set one. We did an excellent job of limiting touches for Emmy Caves in their back row. Caves does a tremendous job of passing the ball for them and again I want to give our servers credit for that.”
Anna Holloway led the Warriors with 18 kills while Leah Grady and Tori Veltkamp followed with 17 and 10 kills respectively. Leah had a special night statistically as her attack percentage reached a high of 44 percent.
Anna Holloway and Jenny Her led Calvary defensively with 20 and 17 digs on the night.
The team will be back in action tomorrow as they travel to Dubuque, IA to face off against Emmaus Bible College and Moody Bible Institute.
