Becky Schmidt '99 once ventured west from Michigan to California like the Hope College volleyball team she is taking to the NCAA Division III Championships.

Going back to Cali this week brings back fond memories for Schmidt and how she struck gold with her first collegiate coaching opportunity.

Schmidt coached at the Division III University of Redlands for three seasons before returning to her hometown in Holland to lead her alma mater. 

Redlands is 32 miles east Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Roberts Pavilion in Claremont, California, where Hope faces Johns Hopkins University (Md.) in the national quarterfinals on Wednesday, Nov. 29, at 4:30 p.m. Pacific. The match will be streamed on ncaa.com.

"It is really special," Schmidt said on November 18 at DeVos Fieldhouse after the Flying Dutch clinched their fifth national quarterfinals berth. "My first three years coaching at the University of Redlands were incredibly formative because of the people I had the opportunity to work with and a lot of them are still back there. 

"I'm really excited to be able to bring our team out there and to be able to connect with those folks. It is a great place, and I'm really thankful for that part of my life."

Hope departs for southern California on Monday, Nov. 27. The public is invited to send the Flying Dutch off. Meet at 11:15 a.m. at the DeVos Fieldhouse loading dock at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Ninth Street.

The Flying Dutch will practice and participate in a community service project on Tuesday, Nov. 28, hosted by Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.

Schmidt coached at Redlands from 2001 to 2004 and led the Bulldogs to a 38-33 record. She was hired after an All-American playing career at Hope and serving as a graduate assistant coach at Miami University of Ohio while completing her master's degree in sport behavior and performance.

While in California, Schmidt coached club volleyball teams, including the Redlands Dragons 18s team. She also helped establish a volleyball development program for 12-year-olds. In 2002, she coached a USA Athletes International volleyball team to a gold medal in the "Down Under Games" in Australia.

Schmidt was hired as Hope's ninth head coach prior to the 2004 season. Since then, the Flying Dutch have won 79.7% of their games (507-129), made 15 trips to the NCAA Championships and claimed their first national title in 2014.

This season, Hope is 30-2 overall and ranked second in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association poll. The Flying Dutch swept MIAA regular-season and tournament titles for the second time in program history. Schmidt was named the AVCA Region 7 and the MIAA Coach of the Year.

Listen to Coach Schmidt speak about her time at Redlands below.