SATURDAY RECAP
Box Score: Hillsdale 3, Glenville St. 0
Box Score: Hillsdale 3, Mercyhurst 0
The Chargers bounced back from their first loss of the season Friday night to post a pair of efficient 3-0 sweeps of Glenville State and Mercyhurst University Saturday afternoon in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Hillsdale will begin G-MAC play Tuesday at Findlay sporting a 7-1 overall record.
The day started with a second 3-0 win over the Pioneers in a week. Like the last meeting between the teams, Hillsdale deployed a lineup with less experienced players, and they performed well. Hillsdale had a team hitting percentage of .289 compared to .000 for Glenville State.
Five different Chargers had four or more kills, led by eight from freshman Allyssa Van Wienen, who hit .667 for the match. Freshman Maddie Clark set a new career-high with six kills, while getting four digs and two block assists. Dani Jones, Emily Lachmann and Christine Siddall each picked up four kills.
Junior Kara Vyletel was impressive in the 3-0 win over Mercyhurst, with 18 kills and a .400 hitting percentage. Lachmann established a new career-high with 12 kills in the win over the Lakers. Freshman Lindsey Mertz handed out 40 assists and sophomore Taylor Wiese led the back row with 18 digs.
FRIDAY RECAP
Box Score: Hillsdale 3, St. Michael's 0
Box Score: Gannon 3, Hillsdale 0
The Hillsdale College volleyball team had its most decisive win of the young season, followed by its first loss Friday in Erie, Pennsylvania.
The Chargers buzzed through St. Michael's College 3-0 Friday afternoon, winning by scores of 25-11, 25-12 and 25-9. The win featured one of the most efficient offensive matches in Hillsdale College history, turned in by junior Paige VanderWall.
However, Hillsdale's season-opening five-match winning streak came to an end Friday night, losing to host Gannon University 3-0. Set scores were 25-23, 25-21 and 25-13.
In the win over St. Michael's, VanderWall made history by recording 10 kills on 11 attempts, good for a .909 hitting percentage. That number is the second-highest hitting percentage recorded by a player in a match in Great Midwest Athletic Conference history, and the highest such percentage recorded by a G-MAC player since 2014. VanderWall's first 10 attack attempts were all good for kills, and only her 11th was dug up by the opposition.
Hillsdale hit .341 for the match compared to -.077 for St. Michael's.
Sophomore Emily Lachmann had 7 kills and hit .375 in the win. Sophomore Taylor Wiese had 11 digs while setters Lindsey Mertz and Taylor Bennett combined for 25 assists.
Friday's nightcap featured a very tightly played first set in which neither team led by more than three points, or had a scoring run of more than three consecutive points. The Chargers' team hitting percentage dropped fro m.194 to .163 to .071 from the first to the third set, as the Golden Knights used their size to control the match more as it wore on.
Wiese and freshman Madie Schider each had 12 digs to lead the Chargers while junior Kara Vyletel led the offense with 11 kills. Mertz added 25 assists and 9 digs in the loss.