-- Story provided by Hope College Athletics --
Hours before the season's biggest match — so far — the second-ranked Hope College volleyball team stopped on the bus ride to the national quarterfinals to play at an arcade.
For about 20 minutes, the Flying Dutch let their inner kid out and reveled in a few games of Pop-A-Shot, Pump-It-Up, Quik Drop, Speed of Light and Wheel of Fortune at John's Incredible Pizza in Ontario, California. Afterward, they gleefully danced on the bus before arriving at the arena in nearby Claremont.
As the pressure rose on Wednesday amid another opponent's spirited comeback at the NCAA Division III Championships, Hope relied on living joyfully in the moment together to find what they needed to earn another thrilling five-set victory.
The Flying Dutch outlasted ninth-ranked Johns Hopkins University (Md.), 25-18, 27-25, 26-28, 14-25, 15-12, at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps to claim their third national semifinal appearance and their first since their 2014 national championship run.
Hope (31-1) advanced to face championships-host and eighth-ranked C-M-S (26-5) in the semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 30, at 7:30 p.m. Pacific on ncaa.com. The Athenas swept top-seeded and third-ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh in Wednesday's final quarterfinal.
It it a joyride right now for the Flying Dutch? Absolutely, head coach Becky Schmidt said.
"That's something we've done before, where we just want to before the match, blow off a little steam, have some fun and bring that joy to what it is we are doing. … There are a lot of things we try to do to keep Hope Volleyball weird and a little fun," Schmidt said. "The pregame talk from Carrie Lehocky, associate head coach, talked a lot about being kids out there, remember the game that you fell in love with, remember what it's like to be a kid and play without any fear, just go out there with joy and passion.
"We continue to find ways to do that. You see some of the team's expressions on faces in huddles. Most of the time, the conversations were not about tactics, it was about body language and heart, and finding that groove that has resulted in us playing with a lot of grit."
Hope relied on its mettle again like it did during five-set victories at DeVos Fieldhouse on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 17-18, against Wisconsin-Stevens Point during the regional semifinals and Transylvania (Ky.) during the regional final.
For the third consecutive postseason match, the Flying Dutch faced a rallying opponent who would not go away easily. After Johns Hopkins (28-5) survived four match points in the third set, the Bluejays dominated the fourth set to set up a first-to-15 showdown in the fifth set.
Hope jumped out an early 5-1 lead, but Johns Hopkins reeled off the next four points to pull even. After taking two-point leads on two occasions, the Bluejays scored five points in a span of six serves for an 11-9 lead.
Two kills from junior blocker Alison DeWeerd (Kentwood, Michigan / South Christian) started a decisive run of five points for the Flying Dutch.
Junior outside hitter Addie VanderWeide (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian) and sophomore outside hitter Brooke Fox (Saunemin, Illinois / Pontiac Township) followed with kills of their own.
A Fox service ace gave Hope a match point again. This time, after one Johns Hopkins sideout, DeWeerd nimbly dropped a deke over the Johns Hopkins block just to the left of the near sideline and the final point.
"Credit to Johns Hopkins and the way they fought through that match. They never gave up in the third and fourth sets," Schmidt said. "They really elevated their service pressure and got us into some difficult positions. They made it a lot easier to be able to attack against us.
"I'm really proud of our team's resolve to steal momentum back in that fifth set and to find that gritty play that's been part of our identity the past few weeks — and all season."
VanderWeide, an American Volleyball Coaches Association First Team All-American, finished with a match-high 23 kills. Johns Hopkins received 18 kills apiece from Chidinma Onukugha and Simone Adam.
Sophomore setter and AVCA Second Team All-American Lauren Lee (Wyoming, Michigan / Grandville) directed the Hope attack and collected a season-high 58 assists.
Junior outside hitter Liz VanderSlice (Wyoming, Michigan / Grandville) also reached double figures for Hope with 12 kills.
DeWeerd, an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American, totaled 11 kills.
"We reset our minds," DeWeerd said of her team's approach to the fifth set. "We start with a prayer [then] we say won two, lost two, there's got to be a change that happens. I think we all knew that and were ready to make that change.
"From there on out, it was play with less aggression and more love. So much pent-up energy is coming through the four sets, the fifth set it's going to change. We were able to make that change and play with joy and fun."
Like kids in an arcade.
