A weekend power outage didn't bother the Hope College volleyball team, as the fourth-ranked team in the nation took down third-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and No. 25 Transylvania University on Saturday in Lexington, Kentucky.
The weather from Hurricane Helene took out the power at host school Transylvania, postponing Friday's doubleheader a day and moving the games to a nearby high school.
Hope improved to 11-2 on the season. The Flying Dutch are now set for The Rivalry game at Calvin University on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 6:30 p.m. It is the MIAA opener for both teams.
Against Whitewater, the Flying Dutch jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first set. The Eagles rallied plenty of times during the remainder of the set, but Hope continued to shut the door to take the first victory, 25-23.
Hope led for the majority of the match, with the Eagles' only lead coming in the third set after a 7-3 point run that gave them the momentum to eliminate a Flying Dutch sweep.
Senior Annie Lockett (Mason, Ohio / William Mason HS) led the Orange and Blue with 17 kills.
Senior Addie VanderWeide (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian) picked up 11 kills in the first win of the day. VanderWeide also tallied 17 digs for Hope.
Sophomore Kamryn Burbridge (Grand Haven, Michigan / Grand Haven) added 10 kills.
Senior Samantha Seib (Elkhorn, Wisconsin / Catholic Central) had a team-high 33 digs.
Junior Lauren Lee (Plymouth, Michigan / Ann Arbor Skyline) had a game-high 46 assists against Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Hope sent over six aces in the first victory, with sophomore Kathryn Oates recording three of them.
Against Transylvania, Hope dominated from the start and took the win in just three sets, 25-15, 25-17, 25-17.
The Flying Dutch hit .370 as a team against the Pioneers, who recorded a .134 team hitting percentage.
Hope was led by VanderWeide in match two with 16 kills. The outside-hitter also racked up 10 digs.
Senior Alison DeWeerd (Kentwood, Michigan / South Christian) slammed 7 kills, and Lockett had 9 with 3 blocks.
Hope's serve game was strong against the 25th-ranked Pioneers, sending out 12 aces as a team. Lee had a team-high three aces. DeWeerd and senior Grace Marshall (DeWitt, Michigan / DeWitt) each had two aces.
Lee tallied a game-high 35 assists. Seib shared a game-high 11 digs.
