Box Score HOLLAND, Mich. – In front of more than 3,000 fans, almost all cheering against them, the UW-Stevens Point volleyball team stunned host and second-ranked Hope College on Thursday evening, ending the Flying Dutchmen's season with a resounding 3-0 victory to advance to the NCAA Division III Volleyball Final Four.
Box Score
The magical tournament run continues for the Pointers (35-4), who have now won 24 straight matches and advance another round in the NCAA Division III championship. UW-Stevens Point will next face third-ranked California Lutheran University in the national semifinals on Friday evening in DeVos Fieldhouse.
"[The atmosphere] was unreal," head coach
Abbey Sutherland said. "It was a great experience for our players. They played in the moment and didn't let anything faze them."
The Pointers were led by
Emma Brunkhorst (Germantown, WI/Germantown) who finished with 13 kills on 22 attempts with no errors, good for a .591 hitting percentage.
Allison Davis (Rochelle, IL/Rochelle Township) had seven kills, while
Alexis Hartman (Deer Park, IL/Lake Zurich) had 31 assists to go along with 11 digs.
Hannah Picel (West Bend, WI/West Bend West) led the way with 19 digs and
Bri Piepenbrok (Merrill, WI/Merrill) chipped in with 12 digs. UWSP tallied 18 total blocks, including six by Davis and four from Brunkhorst.
Jenna Grassmeyer led the Flying Dutchmen (32-3) with 11 kills and Allie Mitchell tallied 16 digs.
As a team, UWSP hit .250 for the match, including .314 in the first set. The Pointers held Hope to a .180 hitting percentage over the three sets.
The national semifinal between UW-Stevens Point and Cal Lutheran will start at 7:30 p.m. EST. The match will follow the first semifinal, which pits No. 7 Emory against No. 1 Calvin at 5 p.m.