2022 Volleyball Preview

Senior outside hitter Jenna Core

Youth is served for the Hope College volleyball team.

The Flying Dutch will look to repeat as MIAA champions and return to the NCAA Division III Championship with a new-look lineup that features one starter from last season.

Hope returns six letterwinners and starting middle blocker Charlotte Brecht from a team that went 25-5 last season and reached the regional final before losing to host University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

2022 Schedule

Hope opens up their season over Labor Day weekend on the road at the Great Lakes Crossover Tournament in Sandusky, Ohio, on Friday, September 2, and Saturday, September 3. The orange and blue will play two matches each day.

Then, the Flying Dutch return home to host their first of two tournaments at DeVos Fieldhouse, the first being the MIAA/NCAC Crossover Tournament on Friday and Saturday, September 9-10. On Friday, there will be a free poster giveaway.

The Hope Tournament will follow at DeVos Fieldhouse on Friday and Saturday, September 16-17.

MIAA league play begins on Tuesday, September 20, when the Flying Dutch host Albion College at 6:30 p.m.

MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll

The Hope College volleyball team is projected to contend for an MIAA regular-season championship this fall. The Flying Dutch finished runner-up in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll with 13 points and three first-place votes.

Coaching Staff

Head Coach: Becky Schmidt, 19th season
Assistant Coaches: Charley Andrews, Carrie Lehocky, Amber Morse, Gabbi Vachon

2022 Roster

The Flying Dutch's roster of 16 players features three seniors, one junior, five sophomores, and seven freshmen. Senior middle blocker and biology major Charlotte Brecht (Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan / Grosse Pointe South) leads the pack.

Other returning letterwinners are: senior outside hitter and global studies major Emma Post (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville), senior outside hitter and mechanical engineering major Jenna Core (Spring Lake, Michigan / Spring Lake), junior setter and political science major Olivia Fiebing (Traverse City, Michigan / Central), sophomore middle blocker and social work major Alison DeWeerd (Kentwood, Michigan / South Christian), and sophomore outside hitter and biology major Sammie Seib (Elkhorn, Wisconsin / Catholic Central).

By the Numbers

Charlotte Brecht recorded a career-high 210 kills as a junior in 2021. The middle blocker also collected a career-best 108 total blocks.

Since 1972, the Flying Dutch own a record of 1,085-495 for a winning percentage of .682.

Hope has advanced to the NCAA Championships 13 of the past 14 seasons, including a 2014 run to the first national title in the sport of volleyball.

The Flying Dutch's regular-season title in 2021 was the 14th MIAA championship in team history and 10th outright.

Hope has recorded 20 or more wins in 15 of the past 17 seasons, with the exceptions a 19-win season in 2017 and a nine-win season in a COVID-shortened 2021 spring season.

Coach's Outlook

"I have learned that this team is really hard working, they're a lot of fun, and they are skilled athletes. It has been fun to see them emerge in this team concept, a lot of players are getting different types of opportunities than they have had before and they are stepping forward into them courageously and I have been very impressed and I'm very excited to see them out on the court this weekend. With such a young team, we are going to have to maximize every single play, every single point, to learn about what it's going to take to play the best volleyball that we can." - Becky Schmidt

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