Playing through the entire roster, the Hillsdale College volleyball team kept up its current winning streak with a home win over Kentucky Wesleyan College Friday night.
Starting off strong, the Chargers swept the Panthers by scores of 25-13, 25-19 and 25-22 to improve to 13-3 overall and 10-0 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
Hillsdale hit .312 as a team in the opening set, with setter Lindsey Mertz running the offense smoothly as the Chargers rolled to a 1-0 lead. Kentucky Wesleyan gradually played better through the second and third sets, and pushed the Chargers hard, particularly in the third set, which stood tied at 18 at one point.
A missile of a kill by senior Paige VanderWall helped to get energy and momentum back on the Chargers' side, as they went on to outscore the Panthers 7-4 to close out the victory. Hillsdale has now won 25 straight conference matches and has won 21 straight sets this year.
Sophomore middle hitter Allyssa Van Wienen was effective all night, with 8 kills and 4 block assists. Her return to form is a big factor for Hillsdale is it faces two straight weekends of three road matches coming up.
VanderWall finished the third set strong and had a team-high 11 kills for the Chargers. She produced another double-double, picking up 11 digs in the match. Freshman Karoline Shelton was active and productive in botht he front and back rows. She had 9 kills, 2 block assists and 2 digs in the winning effort.
Mertz was terrific in this match with 32 assists and 7 digs, while junior Taylor Wiese, the reigning G-MAC West player of the week, had 18 digs to lead the defense.
PHOTO: Greg Vyletel