Sixth-Ranked Volleyball Downs Two Nationally-Ranked Foes in St. Louis

Pictured, senior Lauren Lee

The sixth-ranked Hope College volleyball team served up a pair of hard-earned wins against nationally-ranked opponents on Saturday afternoon in the Gateway City.

The Flying Dutch defeated both No. 23 Otterbein University (Ohio) in five sets and No. 14 Washington University in St. Louis in four sets within a span of six hours at WashU's Bear Invitational.

Hope improved to 3-0 on the season.

"I was really impressed by our grit," head coach Becky Schmidt said. "There were a lot of times our opponents stepped up their game, and we found ways to be able to continue to step up our game in different ways. I thought our service pressure was incredible this weekend. I was really impressed with our confidence in striking the ball on the serve.

"We just had a number of different people step up at different times to make sure we were playing a high level of volleyball."

Against WashU, the Flying Dutch won 25-14, 25-20, 29-31, 26-24 behind a record-tying 28 kills from junior outside hitter and all-tournament selection Addie VanderWeide (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian).

VanderWeide became the fourth different Hope hitter to record 28 kills in a match, joining Jacie Fiedler (2009 in five sets vs. WashU), Jenna Grasmeyer (2012 in five sets vs. Albion) and Katie Rietberg (2018 in four sets vs. Albion).

The Flying Dutch overcame an early 5-1 deficit in the fourth set.

After missing three chances to close out the match in the third set, Hope scored the final two points in the fourth set behind kills from sophomore middle hitter Ella Contant (Elmhurst, Illinois / York Community) and sophomore outside hitter Brooke Fox (Saunemin, Illinois / Pontiac Township).

Sophomore setter and all-tournament selection Lauren Lee (Plymouth, Michigan / Skyline) set up both kills to finish with 51 assists.

Junior outside hitter Alison DeWeerd (Kentwood, Michigan / South Christian) collected 14 kills with a team-best .367 attack percentage.

Against Otterbein, Hope scored six of the first seven points in the fifth set and never trailed to claim a 25-16, 23-25, 25-16, 22-25, 15-11 victory.

VanderWeide and DeWeerd topped the Flying Dutch with 24 and 14 kills, respectively. Fox chipped in 13 kills.

Freshman middle hitter Kamryn Burbridge (Grand Haven, Michigan / Grand Haven) recorded a match-high six blocks along with making five kills.

Lee recorded 56 assists and set up the Flying Dutch to post a .319 attack percentage.

"One thing that impressed me was their ability to make and execute adjustments," Schmidt said. "They are able to make tactical changes with confidence and success. Even if we haven't practiced that adjustment much, they're able to make those adjustments."

Hope returns to action on Friday-Saturday, Sept. 8-9, at the MIAA's North Coast Athletic Conference Challenge hosted by Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio.

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