by Dena Meiste

The No. 7 ranked Hope College women's volleyball team opened the 2021 fall season with a pair of shutout victories on Friday at the Gargoyle Classic at the Unversity of Chicago, downing both St. Olaf College and Aurora College in straight sets. 

McKenna Otto (Wheaton, Illinois / Wheaton North), pictured, began her senior season in a big way, leading the Flying Dutchmen with double-digit kills in both matches. The middle blocker had 25 kills on the day while contributing to the defense with nine digs and four blocks.

Hope, ranked No. 7 in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll, hit for a solid .302 hitting percentage in its first match against St. Olaf, leading to a 25-17, 25-19, 25-21 straight-set win. Otto led all hitters with 12 kills, followed by fellow senior Ana Grunewald (Grand Rapids, Michigan / East Grand Rapids), who tacked down six.

Senior Tracy Westra (Clarendon Hills, Illinois / Timothy Christian) dished out 25 assists, while sophomore Maggie Wehrmeyer (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) paced the defense with a match-high 16 digs. 

Otto opened the first set with a kill to score the Dutch's first point of the season. Although Hope jumped out to the early lead, the Oles kept pace and overtook the advantage at 8-6. The lead was short-lived, however, and kills by Charlotte Brecht and Grunewald put the Dutch back on top once and for all at 10-9. 

Hope would never trail in set two and built a lead as large as 10 points before settling on a 25-19 win.  

St. Olaf threatened to push the match to four sets, going ahead late in the third frame by a 21-17 margin. Otto put down a kill for the much-needed sideout and added three more to fuel an incredulous 8-0 run to secure the sweep, 25-21. 

Brecht (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan / Grosse Pointe South) finished the match with four kills and three blocks.

Hope went back and forth with Aurora in the opening points of the second match but tied at 11, the Dutch went on a 5-1 run to take control of the set. With Otto's fourth kill of the game, Hope secured the 25-18 win.

The Dutch continued to dominate and handily won the next two sets 25-12, 25-16.

Otto finished the match with a match-best 13 kills earned on 31 errorless swings. Grunewald added seven kills, while Molly Ligon (Beverly Hills, Michigan / Birmingham Seaholm) nailed down six.

Overall, Hope hit at a .264 clip with 40 kills and 12 errors. The Spartans were held to just a .063 average, hindered by 21 hitting errors.

The Flying Dutch conclude the tournament in Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 4 with a 1 p.m. match versus No. 18 Saint Benedict.