The Hope College volleyball team is one win away from a NCAA Division III national championship.

The second-ranked Flying Dutch meet fifth-ranked Emory (Georgia) in today's 1 p.m. title match at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia.

Photo, from left, Courtney Van Houzen, Jenna Grasmeyer and Amy VanderStoep, by Lynne Powe

Today is Hope's first national championship match. The Flying Dutch's previous best finish in the NCAA Division III tournament was the 2009 national semifinals, where they lost in five sets to Washington University-St. Louis.

Hope and Emory are meeting for the first time in the national tournament. They last met during the 2007 regular season. Emory won the match played with 30-point sets at the Illinois Wesleyan University Invitational 31-29, 34-32, 33-31.

Hope's 33 wins this season is tied for second all-time in school history. The Flying Dutch went 34-4 during their run to the national semifinals in 2009 and 33-8 in 1998.

Hope advanced to the national final by sweeping top-ranked rival and 2013 national champion Calvin in the semifinals. The 28-26, 25-18, 25-14, featured a school-record 23 blocks during the match. Senior middle hitter Jillian Sommerville of Plymouth, Michigan (Salem HS), led the block party with nine — tying the school record for blocks in a three-set match played to 25 points. Kara VandeGutche had nine against MIAA rival Albion on Sept. 22, 2009.

Hope won its national quarterfinal match in three sets against No. 15 Clarkson, N.Y. Four players had at least seven kills for the Flying Dutch during the match, including a team-high 10 from senior outside hitter Jenna Grasmeyer of Jenison, Michigan (Hudsonville Unity Christian HS).

Coach Becky Schmidt reached a milestone during Friday's national quarterfinal win vs. Clarkson. It was the 300th win of her career at Hope. Schmidt owns a 301-73 record at Hope and 339-106 mark overall. She also spent three seasons at Redlands (California). 

Hope is 26-0 in three-set matches this season. The Flying Dutch match the school record for three-set wins in a single season. The 2013 team went 26-2 in matches ending in three sets. Hope is 5-1 in four-set matches and 2-1 in five-set matches this season.

Hope will break the school record for blocks per set this season. The Flying Dutch enter the match averaging 2.36 blocks per set. The previous high was 2.12 in 2012.

Hope spent six weeks atop the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III
coaches polls. The Flying Dutch were ranked No. 1 from the Sept. 16 to Oct. 21 rankings.

Hope was ranked fourth with one first-place vote in the 2014 preseason AVCA poll. Emory was second with three first-place votes.

The Flying Dutch have fared well this season vs. foes who are nationally ranked. Hope has a 9-2 record, including the past four NCAA Tournament matches.

Hope advanced to the national quarterfinal with a dramatic regional title. The Flying Dutch won both of its final two matches in five sets by overcoming 0-2 deficits against regional host Wittenberg (Ohio) in the finals and No. 10 Juniata (Pennsylvania) in the semifinals.

Hope received one of 20 Pool C berths to the NCAA Tournament. The Flying Dutch were runner-up to Calvin in the MIAA Tournament.

Hope shared the regular-season MIAA title with Calvin. Both teams went 15-1 in league play, losing on each other's home court. It was Hope's 13th league championship and second in a row.

Hope is 19-12 all-time in NCAA Division III Tournament matches. This is the Flying Dutch's 12th postseason appearance and their seventh in a row.