Hope Volleyball Among DIII Attendance Leaders (5/12/09)
Hope College continues to be among the nation's NCAA Division III volleyball leaders in home attendance. The NCAA reports that the 2008 MIAA champion Flying Dutch had the second highest average home attendance in Division III for the third consecutive year.

The Flying Dutch have played at the DeVos Fieldhouse for three seasons and have a dedicated space for volleyball, providing players and fans an exciting environment.

This past season the Flying Dutch averaged 552 fans across 11 home dates. The DIII leader for the second consecutive year was East Texas Baptist with an average of 566 fans across five home dates.

The Flying Dutch posted a 9-2 record on their home court and in three seasons are 29-4 at DeVos Fieldhouse.

A highlight of the 2008 season was the home Calvin vs. Hope match which was moved to the main arena at DeVos and attracked a Division III regular season record crowd of 2,307 fans.

The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) ranked fourth among Division III conferences in 2008 with an average of 179 fans across 86 home dates by the nine member colleges.

Hope Volleyball Among DIII Stat Leaders (12/12/08)
The Flying Dutch volleyball team was among the NCAA Division III statistical leaders in 2008. Coach Becky Schmidt's MIAA champion Flying Dutch posted a 26-7 overall record and competed in the NCAA championships.

The team ranked third in kills-per-set with an average of 13.44. The national leader was Ohio Northern at 13.89.

The Flying Dutch finished sixth in assists-per-set with an average of 12.12. Ohio Northern was again the national leader at 12.93. Individually, Hope junior setter Andrea Helminiak of Maumee, Ohio (Anthony Wayne HS) ranked 14th in assists-per-set with an average of 10.47. The assists leader was Emily Foster of St. Thomas, Minn. at 11.39.

In other categories, Hope ranked 30th in both hitting percentage (.240) and won/loss percentage (.813 / 26-7).

Two Volleyball Players Named All-Region (11/17/08)
Two members of Hope's MIAA champion volleyball team have been named to the Great Lakes Division III all-region team by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA).

Senior outside hitter Nora Slenk of Holland, Mich. (Holland Christian HS) and sophomore middle hitter Kara VandeGuchte of Hamilton, Mich. (Hamilton HS) are among the 14 players being honored from NCAA Division III teams in Michigan, Ohio and Kentucky.

In addition, junior setter Andrea Helminiak of Maumee, Ohio (Anthony Wayne HS) received honorable mention recognition.

All three Hope honorees received All-MIAA first team honors as coach Becky Schmidt's Flying Dutch posted a 26-7 season record, captured the MIAA championship for the fourth time this decade and competed in the NCAA tournament.

Slenk and VandeGuchte become eligible for AVCA All-American consideration.

Flying Dutch Bow in NCAA Opener (11/13/08)
Stats
The Flying Dutch made a quick albeit exciting exit from the NCAA championships Thursday night bowing in the opening round of the eight-team regional tournament to Heidelberg, Ohio in five games, 25-22, 20-25, 27-29, 25-19, 15-7.

It marked the second time this season that Heidelberg defeated the Flying Dutch in a five-set match.

After splitting the first two sets, Hope led 24-21 in set three before Heidelberg went on a three-point scoring run to knot the score at 24-24. After trailing 26-25, the Flying Dutch scored four out of the next five points to take set three in extended points. After the score was tied 10-10 in set four, Heidelberg outscored Hope, 30-16 to end the match. The Bergs’ scoring run included leads of 10-3 and 12-5 in the deciding fifth stanza.

Kara VandeGuchte had a match-high 16 kills on a .500 hitting percentage to lead the Flying Dutch. Nora Slenk added 15 kills and Teresa Borst had 11. Meghan Winer patrolled the back court with 28 digs and Kristen Johnson added 18 and Traci Baker 11. Andrea Helminiak contributed 50 assists and 17 digs.

Earlier in the day MIAA rival Calvin also lost in a first round match to UW-Whitewater, 25-18, 22-25, 25-18, 25-14.

Coach Becky Schmidt's Flying Dutch, appearing in the post-season tournament for the sixth time in school history, end the season with a 26-7 record.

Flying Dutch are MIAA Champions (11/1/08)
The Flying Dutch clinched an outright MIAA championship this weekend while winning three of four matches at the Midwest Challenge. Two of the victories were three-game sweeps of conference opponents Alma and Kalamazoo. The wins left Hope with a final 15-1 regular season conference record. The Flying Dutch have a a 25-6 regular season record, marking the third time in five seasons under Schmidt that the Flying Dutch have won 25 or more matches.