Last year's national championship run for the Hope College volleyball team has provided valuable lessons for this year's postseason run.
The 10th-ranked Flying Dutch open the 2015 NCAA Division III Tournament on Thursday against Bethel, Minnesota at the Whitewater, Wisconsin Regional. The eight-team regional runs through Saturday, with the winner advancing to the Nov. 19-21 NCAA Championship at Calvin College.
Hope coach Becky Schmidt said her team realized in 2014 that it can be anybody's game at any time. The Flying Dutch won three five-set matches during its NCAA run last year, including national and regional finals.
"Nobody is going back down for anybody," Schmidt said. "It's just going to come down to who's able to withstand the pressure when the pressure gets put on. The way we won regional at Wittenberg was not the way we went in expecting it to go, but we buckled down when we needed to and rose to that occasion.
"It's up to this year's team. It's within our grasp, but it's not something that's going to come easy."
Hope (24-6) plays Bethel (22-9) for the first time in the NCAA Tournament in the first of four regional openers Thursday at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater.
The winner advances to Friday's 4:30 p.m. Central regional semifinal against either Wisconsin-Eau Claire (26-9) or Gustavus Adolphus, Minnesota (27-2).
Click here for the NCAA bracket.
Tickets can be purchased at the door. They are $6 for adults, $4 for senior citizens, students and youth.
Click here for Whitewater, Wisconsin regional homepage.
GAME NOTES
Hope received an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Tournament after posting a 24-6 record during the regular season and finishing runner-up in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association to national qualifier Calvin College. This is the Flying Dutch's 13th NCAA Tournament appearance.
Hope won the 2014 NCAA Division III Championship by defeating Emory, Georgia in five sets in Newport News, Virginia. It was the Flying Dutch's first national title in volleyball and third in any sports in school history.
During the 2014 Springfield, Ohio regional, the Flying Dutch won two five-set matches to advance to the national quarterfinals. Hope rallied from 2-0 deficits twice, including against host Wittenberg in the regional final.
Hope is 21-11 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches. The Flying Dutch have won nine of the last 10 postseason matches.
The Flying Dutch are seeking to become a regional champion for the fourth team in team history. Hope also advanced to the national semifinals in 2009 and the quarterfinals in 2013.
Hope has never faced Bethel, Minnesota in NCAA Tournament action. The Flying Dutch have never played a team from Minnesota in the postseason.
Hope is ranked 10th in this week's American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III poll. Hope has been in the Top 25 all season since a preseason ranking of third.
Senior setter Lauren Hazekamp is a two-time American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American and two-time All-MIAA First Team honoree. Hazekamp is ranked second at Hope with 3,690 assists and ninth with 1,086 digs. Hazekamp is 19th in the nation at 10.50 assists per set.
Senior libero Allie Mitchell has been named the MIAA's Defensive Player of the Year for two consecutive seasons (2014-15). Mitchell tops the Flying Dutch at 4.82 digs per set. She earned All-MIAA Second Team honors as a senior and junior.
Three first-year starters top Hope in kills this season. Junior outside hitter Sarah Feldpausch leads the team with 338 kills and 3.31 kills per set. Feldpausch was an All-MIAA Second Team honoree. Sophomore Haley Muller is next with 303 kills and 2.97 kills per set. Junior middle hitter Courtney Van Houzen is third at 213 kills and 2.13 per set.
Hope is ranked fourth in the nation with 13.99 kills per set and 13.00 assists per set. The Flying Dutch are eighth with 39.84 team attacks per set and 13th at 19.25 digs per set.
