September 8, 2012 - As if opening the 2012 season against three teams ranked in the top 20, including the defending national champions wasn't hard enough, the Chargers volleyball team took on four more tough opponents over the weekend, three of which advanced at least to last season's regional final.
In Saturday's action, the Chargers defeated Urbana 3-0 before being dealt another frustrating defeat to Wheeling-Jesuit 3-2, with the deciding set coming down to a 15-13 score.
Hillsdale lost the first two matches of the Findlay Fall Classic, 3-2 to California (Pa.) and 3-0 to the University of Indianapolis Friday evening.
Hillsdale 3, Urbana 0
September 8, 2012 - The Chargers finally broke into the win column in an emphatic way in Saturday's early match, defeating the Urbana University Knights by scores of 25-11, 25-14, 25-13.
The entire lineup saw plenty of time on the court, led by freshman Jenalle Beaman who had her first double-digit kill match of her career. She had 10 kills, 11 digs and a .333 attack percentage.
Junior Bekah Draves also had 10 kills and hit .400, while freshman Kristin Malcolm had five kills in nine attempts with no errors. The Chargers outblocked the Knights 8-2, and five different players had 10 or more digs.
Wheeling-Jesuit 3, Hillsdale 2
Just like Friday's match against California Pa., he fifth set in this rematch of the 2011 national quarterfinal came down to a two-point margin. Unfortunately for the Chargers, they came out on the losing end.
Wheeling-Jesuit won sets one and three by identical scores of 25-21. The Chargers stormed back to win set two 25-15 and set four 25-23.
Bekah Draves finished up a strong weekend with a team-high 15 kills and had a .343 hitting percentage. Junior Caitlin Kopmeyer added 12 kills and a season-high 17 digs, and Beaman turned in her second straight strong match with 11 kills and 13 digs.
Lauren Grover had six kills, two solo blocks and five block assists. Emily Wolfert and Draves each had a solo block and four block assists, with Wolfert tacking on three service aces. Sophomore Bailey Lindner led the team defensively with 25 digs.
Friday recap
California (Pa.) 3, Hillsdale 2
Few losses are likely to be as frustrating for the Chargers as this one, the first one of this weekend's tournament.
The Chargers played their best volleyball of the young season in storming out to a 2-0 lead in the match, defeating the Vulcans 25-13 and 25-21 in the first two sets. In set three, Hillsdale held an 18-11 lead and was just seven poins away from a sweep and its first win of the season against a team that went 33-5 a year ago.
But the Vulcans turned the tide of the match late in that third set, and won the final three sets by the mathematically slimmest margin possible, 25-23, 25-23 and 16-14.
Sophomore libero Bailey Lindner played with poise and control, finishing with a career-high 29 sigs for Hillsdale. Her digs total is the highest in a single match by any Hillsdale College player since Sydney Dow had 31 in a match against Michigan Tech Sept. 27, 2008.
Junior Bekah Draves was locked in offensively, turning in the finest performance of her career as well. She had a career-high 18 kills and committed just two hitting errors, good for a .390 hitting percentage. Draves was the go-to option on offense for the Chargers throughout the match.
Senior Lauren Grover had another dominant performance at the net for the Chargers, finishing with 13 kills, a .480 hitting percentage, and a season-high eight block assists. Sydney Lenhart (29) and Alexis Waugh (19) each reached new career-highs in assists, while junior Caitlin Kopmeyer registered a double-double with 10 kills and 16 digs.
U. of Indianapolis 3, Hillsdale 0
Friday's second match was the ninth match since 2009 between regional rivals Hillsdale and Indianapolis. The Greyhounds, ranked 8th in the nation, came out on top in the latest matchup between these teams by set scores of 25-21, 25-23 and 25-18.
Sophomore Kat Carpenter turned in a powerful performance for Hillsdale, achieving a new career-best with eight kills and an impressive .583 hitting percentage.
Hillsdale outblocked Indianapolis 7-3 in the match, led by Emily Wolfert (1 solo, 3 block assists) and Grover (1 solo, 2 block assists). Grover had her second straight 13-kill match and had a .486 hitting percentage.