There was something for most everyone on the Charger volleyball roster Friday night, as the team opened its conference season with a sweep.
Most of hte healthy players on the team saw significant playing time in Hillsdale's 3-0 win over Alderson Broaddus in front of a raucous crowd at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. The 18th-ranked Chargers are now 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
Ten different players recorded kills as coach Chris Gravel got some crucial experience for some of his younger players. Freshman Madeline Zenas got her first extended playing time of the season at home in the third set, and delivered some excellent passes, picking up 10 assists in that third set.
Freshman Megan Kolp saw extensive playing time in all three sets, notching a career-high 6 kills, with a .625 hitting percentage. Freshman Audrey Riley, who has found herself part of the playing rotation throughout the season, had 2 kills, 2 assists and 9 digs.
Hillsdale had a team hitting percentage of .260, but was outstanding on the defensive side of the ledger. The team had 18 total blocks, with eight different players recording blocks in the win. Senior Hannah Gates was particularly effective at the net with 5 block assists, while Zenas showed her blocking skills, picking up 3 in her only set on the floor.
Sophomore outside hitter Karoline Shelton got into a nice rhythm in the third set and led the team with 9 kills in the match. Senior Dani Jones was excellent in the second set, and had 5 kills with a .385 hitting percentage.
Junior Lindsey Mertz sat out the third set and finished with 21 assists in her two sets of action.
Senior libero Taylor Wiese moved into second place on Hillsdale's all-time digs list with her first dig of the night. She finished with 19 digs in the match and now has 1,821 for her career.
PHOTO: Victoria Addis