How Hope volleyball's power towers erupted together in NCAA first-round sweep
HOLLAND - It hadn't happened very often for the Hope College volleyball team - it hadn't needed to.
But with the stage turning to the NCAA tournament, Hope hitters Addie VanderWeide and Alison DeWeerd both had completely dominating performances in the same match.
Hope looked unstoppable with both all-region players continuing to find spots on the ground to slam the ball.
The Flying Dutch are tough enough to beat with one of them playing at the top of their game, let alone two. Bethany (W.Va.) found that out quickly in a 25-21, 25-10, 25-19 Hope win in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament on Thursday at DeVos Fieldhouse.
"The atmosphere had us elevate our energy," DeWeerd said.
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DeWeerd took that energy and was tough to stop.
"Alison is our rock. She is a good leader and has been steady all year long. Now is the time where we are creating more opportunities to feed her the ball more, and it she is doing exactly what she has all year," Hope's Olivia Fiebing said.
The first set was close, then the hitters took over for Hope.
"The first set we had some nerves and we got some of our swagger back in the second set," VanderWeide said.
VanderWeide, the Regional Player of the Year and MIAA MVP, finished with 13 kills (hitting .345) and DeWeerd had 11 (hitting. 500).
"Addie is one of the most creative players I have ever coached. She is able to hit lots of different shots, with power and with offspeed - and it is really difficult to tell which one is coming," Hope coach Becky Schmidt said. "Then one of the keys with Alison tonight was we were able to get her the ball more. She has been hitting a really high percentage in most of the matches we have played, btu we just found ways to get her going a little more and she took advantage of it. That opened up more opportunities for our pins."
Oh, and the rest of the team was stellar, too.
Hope hit .228 as team. Lauren Lee, who also earned all-region honors, had 36 assists. Olivia Fiebing had 14 digs and Samantha Seib had 10. Natalie Dunn (West Ottawa) had six kills and Liz VanderSlice had five.
Bethany hit minus-.017.
"We knew Hope would be a really tough team. We came out really strong and it was evenly matched (in the first). They just got the better end of it," Bethany coach Jordan Barton said. "Their hitters came alive."
Hope will host Wisconsin-Stevens Point at 7 p.m. Friday in the second round.
Set 1: A tight one
Hope trailed by four points early in set one. A kill and a block from Liz VanderSlice, followed by a kill from Alison DeWeerdbrought the Flying Dutch in striking distance and Addie VanderWeide slammed back-to-back kills to tie it 11-11.
Lauren Lee put down a free ball above the net and Brooke Fox put down a block. A block from Kamryn Burbridge tied the set 18-18.
VanderWeide used a kill down the line to put Hope up 20-19. She slammed another kill and Lee served an ace before VanderWeide slammed another on set point for a 25-21 win.
Set 2: DeWeerd dominates
DeWeerd started with a kill, then teamed with VanderWeide for a block in the middle of the court. DeWeerd then put down another kill, then another and it was quickly 6-0. Bethany took a timeout, but DeWeerd put down a kill on the next play.
She could not be stoppped.
And just when Bethany was able to dig one of her spikes, VanderWeide put a kill down even harder and it was 9-0 before the Bison got on the board.
VanderWeide put down a kill from the back row to push the lead to 18-6 and DeWeerd capped off the 25-10 set win with an ace.
Set 3: Natalie Dunn emerges
Natalie Dunn put down a solo block in the corner to give Hope an 8-6 advantage.
Dunn had two more quick kills, including one on a free ball that she slammed down after a long point for a 13-10 lead.
Grace Marshall served an ace and DeWeerd put another kill down and it was 18-11. The Bisons put a nice run together to close the gap, but a block by DeWeerd sealed it 25-19.
"In the third set, our defense just exploded and that translated into great opportunities offensively," Schmidt said.
Calvin eliminated in first round
Calvin lost 25-22, 25-19, 25-18 to Gustavus Adolphus in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Gabriella Kellogg had nine kills and Aerin Baker (Saugatuck) had six. The Knights (22-8) hit. 084 for the match. Baker was named all-region.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hope volleyball's big hitters erupted together in NCAA first-round sweep
