Flying Dutch Among DIII Stat Leaders (12/15/07)
The Flying Dutch ranked among the leaders in NCAA Division III, according to the season's final statistical report. Sophomore setter Andrea Helminiak of Maumee, Ohio (Anthony Wayne HS), pictured right, ranked 38th in the nation in assists, averaging 11.58 per game. The national assists leader was Katie Zondervan of rival Calvin at 13.69 per game. Hope ranked among the top 50 teams in several categories -- #17 in kills per game (15.15); #44 in assists pg (12.99); #49 in hitting percentage (.232). The Flying Dutch, coached by Becky Schmidt, posted a 24-9 season record and finished second in the MIAA standings with a 14-2 record.

Three Hope Players Honored by MIAA (11/8/07)
All-MIAA Honors
Three Hope volleyball players have received All-MIAA honors from conference coaches. Junior Nora Slenk of Holland, Mich. (Holland Christian HS) has been named to the All-MIAA first team while Kara VandeGuchte of Hamilton, Mich. (Hamilton HS) was voted the league's Freshman of the Year. VandeGuchte and sophomore Andrea Helminiak of Maumee, Ohio (Anthony Wayne HS) were voted to the All-MIAA second team. The Flying Dutch, coached by Becky Schmidt, finished second in the MIAA standings and posted an overall 24-9 record.

Hope Player Named Outstanding VB Freshman (11/8/07)
Hope's Kara VandeGuchte of Hamilton, Mich. (Hamilton HS) has been named the outstanding Division III freshman volleyball player in the Great Lakes Region by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The Great Lakes region includes NCAA Division III teams in Michigan and Ohio. VandeGuchte had an outstanding first collegiate season on a team that posted a 24-9 record, including 14-2 in the MIAA. She topped the MIAA in hitting hitting percentage with a .370 average. For the season she led the team in kills with 304 over 101 games. VanderGuchte and junior Nora Slenk of Holland, Mich. (Holland Christian HS) received all-region honorable mention recognition.

Flying Dutch Bow in MIAA Tourney Finale (11/3/07)
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A Flying Dutch bid to upset nationally ranked rival Calvin fell short Saturday as the host Knights won the MIAA tournament championship by sweeping Hope in three games, 30-22, 30-19, 30-23. The loss snapped an 11-match Hope winning streak and put the Flying Dutch at 24-9 on the season. Calvin gains the MIAA 's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III tournamen while the Flying Dutch will have to wait until Monday to see if there is an at-large berth in their future.

Flying Dutch to MIAA Tourney Finals (11/2/07)
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The Flying Dutch have advanced to the finals of the MIAA tournament for the third consecutive year after topping Adrian in four games in semi-final action Friday night, 30-14, 24-30, 30-12, 30-19.

Coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch will meet Calvin in Saturday's championship match at the Calvin College Fieldhouse. Calvin swept Saint Mary's in Friday's other semi-final match, 30-18, 30-23, 30-23. Saturday's winner will advance to the NCAA Division III tournament beginning next week.

The Flying Dutch extended their current winning streak to 11 in-a-row in moving to 24-8 on the season. Hope and Adrian split their regular season matches.

Hope had a strong effort at the net with five players posting double-digit kills -- Kara VandeGuchte 16, Nora Slenk 15, Teresa Borst 12, Kylee Damstra 10 and Sara DeWeerdt 10. Meghan Winer was credited with 10 digs and served six of Hope's 13 aces. Amanda Novak had 11 digs while setterAndrea Helminiak finished with 55 assists.

Coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch will meet Adrian in the first of Friday's semis (5:30 p.m.) at Calvin. The host Knights will meet Saint Mary's in the other semi-final match.

The Flying Dutch extended their winning streak to nine in-a-row while finishing undefeated for the season on their home court (12-0). Hope is 23-8 overall after posting their seventh straight three-game sweep.

Four players ended with double-digit digs -- Meghan Winer 27,Andrea Helminiak 12, Kristen Johnson 11 and Nora Slenk 11. Teresa Borst led the team in kills with 13 while Sara DeWeerdt had 10. Helminiak collected 29 assists while Nora Slenk served three of the team's seven aces.

Flying Dutch Sweep Midwest Challenge (10/27/07)
Midwest Challenge Results
Hope/Albion Box Score
Hope/Anderson Box Score
Hope/Hanover Box Score
Hope/Kalamazoo Box Score
The Flying Dutch won four matches at the Midwest Challenge which they co-hosted with Calvin. On Friday, coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch defeated conference rival Albion, 30-17, 30-14, 30-16 and then captured their 20th victory of the season by sweeping Anderson, Ind., 30-15, 30-19, 30-24. On Saturday the Dutch defeated Kalamazoo 30-23, 30-12, 30-24 followed by a win over Hanover 30-28, 31-29, 30-20. Calvin also won its four matches of The Challenge played in Grand Rapids on Friday. Hope stands 22-8 on the season, marking the fifth time this decade that the Dutch have won 20-or-more matches. Hope ends 14-2 in the MIAA heading into the conference tournament beginning next Tuesday with a home first round match against Kalamazoo.

Four players had double-digit digs for the Dutch led by Meghan Winer 21, Nora Slenk 17, Andrea Helminiak 16 and Kristen Johnson 12. Nora Slenk also had 17 kills while Teresa Borst added 12.

The Flying Dutch will close out the regular season by co-hosting with Calvin the Midwest Invitational on Friday and Saturday. Hope will play two matches on Friday and two more on Saturday.

Flying Dutch Sweep Tri-State on the Road (10/20/07)
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The Flying Dutch swept an opponent in three games for the 12th time this season on Saturday, topping host Tri-State 30-28, 30-17, 30-23. Coach Becky Schmidt's Flying Dutch are 17-8 on the season and in second place in the MIAA standings at 11-2.

The Flying Dutch were led at the net by Kylee Damstra and Kara VandeGuchte who finished with 16 and 12 kills respectivelty. In the backcourt three players had double-digit digs -- Andrea Helminiak 18, Nora Slenk 11 and Amanda Novak 10. Helminiak finished with 38 set assists.

A sore ankle didn't slow down junior Nora Slenk who finished with 19 kills and 14 digs. Kara VanderGuchte and Teresa Borst each had double-digit kills of 14 and 11. Joining Slenk with double-digit digs were Meghan Winer 26, Andrea Helminiak 25 and Amanda Novak 16. Helminiak had 47 assists and three service aces while Kylee Damstra collected seven block assists.

Teresa Borst and Sara DeWeerdt led the Duth in kills with 12 and 10 respectively while four players had double-digit digs -- Andrea Helminiak 20, Meghan Winer 18, Amanda Novak 12 and Alli Cole 10. Winer served three aces while Helminiak finished with 42 assists.

Flying Dutch Sweep Alma Scots (10/9/07)
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The Flying Dutch strengthened their hold on second place in the MIAA standings by sweeping host Alma in three games Wednesday night, 30-20, 30-18, 30-28. The victory puts coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch at 8-2 in the MIAA and 14-8 overall. Calvin leads the MIAA race at 12-0.

Hope's outstanding defense was spread across the team with four players finishing with double-digit digs -- Amanda Novak 14, Meghan Winer 13, Nora Slenk 12 and Sara DeWeerdt 11. Slenk led the team in kills with 15 while Andrea Helminiak, this week's MIAA specialty co-player of the week, was credited with 43 assists and two solo blocks.

Flying Dutch Compete in IWU Invitational (10/6/07)
Tournament Results
The Flying Dutch lost three of four matches at the Illinois Wesleyan University Invitational. Two of the losses were against nationally ranked teams. The lone victory was a 3-2 decision over Millikin, Ill. The losses were to UW-Oshkosh (3-1), host Illinois Wesleyan (3-0), and Emory, Ga. (3-0). Junior Nora Slenk was named to the all-tournament team. The Flying Dutch are 13-8 overall.

Flying Dutch Compete at Illinois Wesleyan (10/5/07)
The Flying Dutch split a pair of matches Friday at the Titan Invitational hosted by Illinois Wesleyan University. Coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch opened with a five-game victory over Millikin, 32-34, 30-24, 30-19, 26-30, 15-12, but then bowed to UW-Oshkosh in four games, 22-30, 30-22, 30-24, 30-27. The Flying Dutch are 13-6 overall. On Saturday Hope will meet host Illinois Wesleyan and Emory, Ga.

Flying Dutch Begin 2nd Half With Victory (10/4/07)
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The Flying Dutch opened the second half of their conference season by sweeping host Saint Mary's in three games Thursday, 30-22,30-22, 30-25. Coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch improved their MIAA record to 7-2 and to 12-5 overall. It was the second time this season that the Dutch have swept the Belles in three games.

Nora Slenk and Teresa Borst led the Dutch in kills with 17 and 15 respectively. Three players finished with double-digit digs -- Amanda Novak 12, Sara DeWeerdt 11 and Meghan Winer 10. Setter Andrea Helminiak finished with 49 assists, a Hope league record for a three-game match. The previous mark for a three-game match was 41 assists by McKenna Troyan vs. Saint Mary's in 2003 and Stephanie Poll vs. Tri-State in 2006.

Flying Dutch Reach Midpoint on Winning Note
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The Flying Dutch reached the midpoint of the conference season by quickly dispatching of visiting Alma on Friday night, 30-12, 30-13, 30-21. Coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch will head into the second half of their MIAA schedule with a 6-2 record and overall 11-5 mark.

Nora Slenk led the Dutch with 16 kills and 12 digs. Andrea Helminiak was credited with 32 set assists. Three players had double-digit digs -- Meghan Winer 20, Nora Slenk 12 and Sara DeWeerdt 10. The Dutch served 12 aces with five different players each having a pair. Alma finished with a negative killing percentage after committing 21 errors against 20 kills.

Flying Dutch Win Two MIAA Matches (9/22/07)
Tri-State Stats / Olivet Stats
The Flying Dutch won a pair of MIAA matches Saturday sweeping visiting Tri-State and Olivet in three games. Coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch improved to 5-1 in the MIAA and are 10-4 overall. Hope defeated Tri-State 30-14, 30-22, 30-21 with Kara VandeGuchte and Nora Slenk collecting 14 and 12 kills respectively. Meghan Winer added 12 digs while Alli Cole had 11. Setter Andrea Helminiak was credited with 36 assists. The Dutch topped Olivet 30-17, 30-22, 30-19 with Jill Immink collecting 10 kills with no errors. Meghan Winer was credited with 11 digs while Nora Slenk served five aces.

Flying Dutch Suffer First League Loss
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The Flying Dutch suffered their first league loss bowing to rival Calvin on Wednesday night in four games, 27-30, 30-25, 31-29, 30-23. The defeat leaves coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch with a 3-1 mark in the MIAA and 8-4 overall. Calvin moved into sole possession of first place in the MIAA at 4-0.

On Friday coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch opened with a four-game victory over Mount St. Joseph, Ohio, 30-27, 30-24, 19-30, 30-20, but bowed to the host Wittenberg Tigers in five games, 30-21, 30-32, 26-30, 30-16, 15-8.

On Saturday the Flying were defeated by Ohio Northern in five games, 30-20, 30-17, 29-31, 25-30, 15-12, but came back to post a five-game victory over Baldwin-Wallace, 28-30, 30-24, 29-31, 30-24, 15-10. The Flying Dutch stand 8-3 on the season.

Hope players named to the all-tournament team included sophomore Teresa Borst of Zeeland (Zeeland East HS), sophomore Andrea Helminiak of Maumee, Ohio (Anthony Wayne HS), junior Nora Slenk of Holland (Holland Christian HS), and junior Meghan Winer of Ada (Forest Hills Central HS).

Flying Dutch Win Third League Match in Five Days (9-8-07)
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The Flying Dutch extended their winning streak to six in-a-row with their third straight league triumph of the week, topping host Albion in three games Saturday, 30-19, 30-19, 30-26. Coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch are 6-1 overall and 3-0 in the MIAA. Hope has now won three straight matches behind a three-game sweep.

Flying Dutch Extend Win Streak to Five (9/6/07)
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The Flying Dutch remained unbeaten in league play and extended their winning streak to five games by sweeping past Saint Mary's in three games Thursday night, 30-14, 30-20, 30-17. The home fans were treated to a match that lasted only an hour. The Flying Dutch are 2-0 in the MIAA and 5-1 overall.

Coach Becky Schmidt was able to send her entire squad into action. The result was the spreading around of the stats. Ten players recorded a kill led by Nora Slenk with 10 and Teresa Borst had nine. Thirteen players were credited with a dig led by Meghan Winer and Andrea Helminiak with 13 and 10 respectively. The Flying Dutch totaled seven service aces led by Slenk and Borst with two each.

Flying Dutch Launch League Play With Win (9/4/07)
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The Flying Dutch launched conference play by sweeping Olivet on the road Tuesday night, 30-21, 30-14,30-23. Coach Becky Schmidt's Dutch extended their winning streak to four in-a-row in moving to 4-1 overall.

Sophomore setter Andrea Helminiak had an outstanding overall game collecting 32 assists, 12 digs and four kills without an error. Junior Meghan Winer was credited with 18 digs while Nora Slenk collected 16 kills.

The Flying Dutch will make their home debut Thursday hosting the Belles of Saint Mary's at DeVos Fieldhouse.

Ohio Northern 3, Hope 0 (30-18, 30-24, 30-24) - The nationally ranked Polar Bears avenged a loss to Hope in last year's NCAA tournament. Nora Slenk had 18 kills for Hope while setter Andrea Helminiak was credited with 34 assists and Meghan Winer collected 20 digs.
Hope 3, Carnegie-Mellon 2 (24-30, 30-23, 30-28, 26-30, 15-10) - Supporting a strong game at the net were Nora Slenk (18 kills), Alli Cole (12 kills) and Teresa Borst (12 kills). Setter Andrea Helminiak had 56 assists while leading in digs were Meghan Winer (15) and Kristen Johnson (11).
Hope 3, Wooster 0 (30-22, 30-16, 30-15) -- Freshman Sara DeWeerdt led at Dutch at the net with 11 kills while sophmore Andrea Helminiak had 24 assists and Kristen Johnson totaled 11 digs.
Hope 3, Mt. Saint Joseph 1 (30-16, 19-30, 30-24, 30-26) -- The Flying Dutch tuned their serving game as junior Meghan Winer and sophomore Alli Cole each had three aces. Sophomore Teresa Borst had 16 kills while freshman Kara VandeGuchte collected 11. Setter Andrea Helminiak totaled 45 assists while Meghan Winer had 19 digs.

In three seasons under coach Becky Schmidt the Flying Dutch have averaged 24 victories a year. The 2006 Flying Dutch posted a 25-10 record, finished second in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) behind rival Calvin and qualified for the NCAA Division III championships.

The 2007 team will be built around nine returning letterwinners. The roster of 24 players includes 14 freshmen, four sophomores, five juniors and one senior.

The tri-captains of the team are junior Kylee Damstra of Byron Center, Mich. (South Christian HS); senior Amanda Novak of East Grand Rapids, Mich. (East Grand Rapids HS) and junior Nora Slenk of Holland, Mich. (Holland Christian HS). Slenk was an All-MIAA second team honoree in 2006. She was among the NCAA Division III leaders in kills (3.97 per game).

Other returning letterwinners include sophomore Teresa Borst of Zeeland, Mich. (Zeeland East HS), sophomore Alli Cole of Hamilton, Mich. (Hamilton HS), sophomore Andrea Helminiak of Maumee, Ohio (Bay HS), junior Jill Immink of Hamilton, Mich. (Hamilton HS), sophomore Kristen Johnson of Naperville, Ill. (Wheaton Academy), and junior Megan Winer of Ada, Mich. (Forest Hills Central HS).