by Alan Babbitt

McKenna Otto dropped in a timely service ace here, an important dig there and, of course, a bunch of point-producing kills on the volleyball court for Hope College.

The junior's growth into a six-rotation standout this spring is paying dividends for the Flying Dutch.

Otto's numerous contributions all over the court propelled 16th-ranked Hope to a 3-0 victory against Albion College in the MIAA Tournament semifinals on Thursday at DeVos Fieldhouse.

Hope (8-1 overall) advanced to the MIAA Tournament final for the 12th consecutive season with a 25-22, 25-19, 25-15 victory. The second-seeded Flying Dutch will play at top-seeded Calvin University on Saturday, April 24 at 3 p.m.

Otto (Wheaton, Illinois/Wheaton North HS), pictured, collected a game-high 13 kills on a team-high 31 attempts for a .290 attack percentage. She also recorded six digs.

Otto's one service ace — on a drop serve — gave Hope its first chance at set point in the first set. After an Albion side out, junior outside hitter Ana Grunewald (Grand Rapids, Michigan/East Grand Rapids) buried one of her eight kills for the set win.

Head coach Becky Schmidt said her team wanted to take more advantage of Otto's diverse skill set as a middle hitter this season.

"Her passing platform is one of the more natural I've seen. She's a strong defender. She presents a back-row attack option," Schmidt said of Otto, an American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American as a middle hitter as a sophomore last season. 

"When we went into this season, we said 'Can we get creative with our offense in a way that's going to allow her to play six rotations and utilize some of the other talents and strengths we have across this team?' We've come up with this three-middle system, and McKenna has handled the responsibility of being always on the court. She's handled it really well."

Middle hitter Charlotte Brecht (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan/Grosse Pointe South) contributed nine kills for the Flying Dutch. 

Middle hitter Molly Ligon (Beverly Hills, Michigan/Birmingham Seaholm) made seven kills.

"The three-middle offense has given us a lot of different options," Otto said. "It keeps the other team surprised; they never know what we're going to do and we can change it up when we want."

Hope hit .283 as a team.

Junior setter Tracy Westra (Clarendon Hills, Illinois/Timothy Christian) directed the Hope offense with a career-high 34 assists.