by Dena Meiste

Led by senior McKenna Otto's 21-kill performance, the #4-ranked Hope College volleyball team earned a hard-found victory over #14 Ohio Northern University on Saturday to close action at the Midwest Invitational. After dropping the first set, the Flying Dutch bounced back to win the match in four, 21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-19.

Overall, Hope put away 67 kills to go along with six aces while ONU countered with 54 kills and a single ace. 

Otto (Wheaton, Illinois / Wheaton North), pictured right, tallied a season-high 21 kills, earned at an incredibly efficient .486 (21 kills-4 errors-35 attempts) hitting percentage. The senior has reached the 20-kill plateau three times now this fall.

With 11 kills and 16 digs, Ana Grunewald (Grand Rapids, Michigan / East Grand Rapids) posted the eighth double-double of her senior campaign. The outside hitter also led the match with three aces to bring her weekend total to a team-leading 11. 

The Flying Dutch saw double-digit scoring performances from Charlotte Brecht (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan / Grosse Pointe South) and Rose Thompson (Coopersville, Michigan / Unity Christian). Brecht scored with 12 kills, four block assists and one solo roof; Thompson earned her 10.0 points with eight kills, an ace and a pair of assisted blocks. 

Libero Maggie Wehrmeyer (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) provided many offensive opportunities for Hope with her team-best 19 digs, as did Grace Pettinger (Mt. Vernon, Iowa / Mt. Vernon), who turned in 11 digs in her rotation through the back row.  

Senior setter Tracy Westra (Clarendon Hills, Illinois / Timothy Christian) did a superb job orchestrating the offense, scattering 55 assists to go along with 11 digs on the defensive end.

The Flying Dutch got off to a slow start, falling behind by an 8-1 margin to open the contest. Although Hope was able to fight back within a point midway through, the Polar Bears put up a strong sideout game and went on to win 25-22.

The second set was a battle from start to finish and neither team was able to build more than a two-point advantage as the lead was passed back and forth. 

Hope got the break it needed when it scored four in a row to climb ahead late, 22-20. Two sideouts later, the Dutch issued the crushing blow when Brecht scored on back-to-back kills to go ahead by a three-point advantage – the biggest lead by either team in the set. One final put away courtesy of Brecht clinched the set 25-22. 

With the momentum firmly in its favor, Hope scored the first point of set three and ultimately would not trail again against ONU. 

The win lifts Hope to 20-3 as the team enters the final week of the regular season.  The Flying Dutch travel to Olivet College (8-12, 2-5 MIAA) on Wednesday, Oct. 27 for a 6:30 p.m. tilt. A win would set the stage for a showdown against Calvin University (24-2, 6-0) on Saturday, Oct. 30 to decide the MIAA regular-season champion. First serve inside DeVos Fieldhouse is slated for 1:00 p.m.

The Flying Dutch defeated the Knights in a non-conference meeting earlier this season, 3-2.