Annie Lockett crouches to dig a volleyball.

Women's Volleyball 8/31/2023 6:53:00 PM Alan Babbitt

2023 Volleyball Season Preview

The Hope College volleyball team is embracing all that comes with a highly-anticipated season.

The Flying Dutch are back on the court after making the national quarterfinals at the NCAA Division III Championships last season and finishing with a 24-8 overall. Hope defeated three Top 10-ranked opponents to claim the fourth regional title in program history and lost to eventual national champion Juniata University (Pa.) in the national quarterfinals.

Voted as the favorite in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll and landing sixth in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason rankings, the Flying Dutch are drawing a lot of attention.

Head coach Becky Schmidt '99 said "expectations are one of the things that we are trying to tackle head-on."

"We're trying to talk about it a lot. What we want to make sure what we do is make sure expectations are our own, not set by other people," Schmidt said. "We were really thankful for the support we get from our community. Everybody has high hopes for what we're able to accomplish. It has to be about more than just winning volleyball games. We've been talking about making sure we're doing the things that will make this season incredible no matter what happens in the win/loss column.

"When we take care of those things, they all contribute to winning. We're trying to take care of things that are within our control. We're focused to try and focus on becoming the best volleyball players and women we can possibly be."

2023 Schedule

The Flying Dutch travel to three different tournaments to start off the season. Beginning on Labor Day weekend, Hope plays three matches at the Bear Invite Tournament hosted by the Washington University in St. Louis on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 1-2.

The first of five home games is marked for Wednesday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m. as Wheaton College comes to DeVos Fieldhouse for a non-league play.

MIAA play begins on the road on Tuesday, September 26 as the Flying Dutch head to Albion College for a 6:30 p.m. game.

Hope hosts Calvin University on Wednesday, Oct. 4, at 7 p.m. in a game that will count toward the MIAA standings.

2023 Roster

Thirteen of the Flying Dutch's 20 student-athletes are returning letterwinners, including All-Americans Lauren Lee and Annie Lockett.

Lee (Plymouth, Michigan / Ann Arbor Skyline HS) ranked third in NCAA Division III with 11.06 assists per set and first in the MIAA with 11.22 assists per set in league play. The biology major was named American Volleyball Coaches Association Region 7 Player of the Year, MIAA Newcomer of the Year and to the All-MIAA First Team.

Lockett (Mason, Ohio / William Mason) received AVCA All-America Honorable Mention and All-Region distinctions as well as All-MIAA First Team honors.

Hope also returns All-MIAA Second Team middle hitter Alison DeWeerd, a junior from Kentwood, Michigan (Grand Rapids South Christian).

DeWeerd, Lockett and senior setter Olivia Fiebing (Traverse City, Michigan / T.C. Central) are co-captains. DeWeerd is a social work major. Fiebing is a political science major.

The group of five newcomers includes two Division I transfers: 5-11 senior outside hitter Natalie Dunn (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) from Furman University and 6-1 juniot outside hitter Addie VanderWeide (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian) from the University of Iowa.

Coaching Staff

Head coach: Becky Schmidt, 20th season (505-160 overall, 477-128 at Hope)
Assistant coaches: Carrie Lehocky, Jaelianna Primus, Amber Morse and Gabbi Vachon

MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll

The Flying Dutch took first in the nine-team MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll with 11 points and a league-best five of eight possible first-place votes. Coaches could not vote for their own teams. Hope finished one point ahead of second-place Calvin University. The Knights received the other four first-place votes.

Coach's Outlook

"One of the things we expect is that we're just going to be more consistent. Players are going to understand a little more about what is required of them and what it's going to take to be able to be their best on a consistent kind of level. Having such a young team last year, and players in very different roles than they experienced the previous year, there was just some inconsistency with that. As soon as we let go of the past and focused on the present, they started playing with incredible passion and confidence. That was a really good learning experience for everybody. I think we're doing a better job of playing that way now. I try to schedule as tough as we can every year. There have been some opponents who are trying to get into a consistent rivalry with: UChicago and Wheaton being two of those. We're trying to play the best teams within the Central Region, making sure we're playing really good teams from Ohio, an area that's got talent within Division III." — head coach Becky Schmidt

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Players Mentioned

#17 Alison DeWeerd: MB; 6' 0"; Junior; Social Work

#14 Olivia Fiebing: DS; 5' 5"; Senior; Political Science

#11 Lauren Lee: S; 5' 7"; Sophomore; Biology

#4 Annie Lockett: OH; 6' 1"; Junior; Business

#7 Natalie Dunn: OH; 5' 11"; Senior

#22 Addie VanderWeide: OH; 6' 1"; Junior; Business

Players Mentioned

#17 Alison DeWeerd
: 6' 0"; Junior; Social Work
: MB

#14 Olivia Fiebing
: 5' 5"; Senior; Political Science
: DS

#11 Lauren Lee
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; Biology
: S

#4 Annie Lockett
: 6' 1"; Junior; Business
: OH

#7 Natalie Dunn
: 5' 11"; Senior
: OH

#22 Addie VanderWeide
: 6' 1"; Junior; Business
: OH