The past six seasons have brought a level of consistent success that's unmatched in the history of the Hillsdale College volleyball program.
Never before have the Chargers strung together six straight 20-plus win seasons or earned five straight NCAA DII Tournament appearances, and the Chargers also have reached two NCAA DII Midwest Regional finals and made an Elite Eight appearance in that stretch that began with a move to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in 2017.
Although Hillsdale is now deep into this run of excellence under legendary head coach Chris Gravel, who enters his 28th season, the Chargers show no signs of dropping off any time soon. In fact, Hillsdale has one of its most experienced teams yet returning in 2023 to make another run at conference and NCAA Tournament glory.
The Chargers do have two big holes to fill from its 2022 squad that won 28 matches, captured the G-MAC Tournament title for the sixth straight season and reached the NCAA DII Tournament regional semifinal round. Hillsdale must replace two-time All-American Karoline Shelton, a full-rotation star and one of only two players in Hillsdale College history to surpass 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career, as well as All-G-MAC middle hitter Linnea Larson.
Although filling in the production from those two players won't be easy, everyone else of consequence returns for the Chargers, including five additional All-G-MAC honorees from 2022.
Leading the way for Hillsdale is junior libero Alli Wiese, who earned All-American honors for the first time in 2022 after becoming the first Hillsdale player in the rally scoring era to surpass 700 digs in a season, while also tying the school record for single-match digs.
Wiese anchors Hillsdale's defense, while the Chargers bring back a number of talented attacking players up front. Junior Marilyn Popplewell had an impressive first year starting outside for Hillsdale in 2022, and has a knack for playing her best in the biggest matches of the season – as evidenced by her starring role as a freshman in Hillsdale's Midwest Regional title run and her record-setting performance in the Chargers' five-set upset of Lewis in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Popplewell is joined on the attack by multi-time All-G-MAC middle hitter Maizie Brown, who led the conference in blocks per set last season, and right-side attacker Megan Kolp, also an All-G-MAC honoree and an offensive dynamo in her own right.
Directing the Chargers attack is junior setter Lauren Passaglia, who received All-G-MAC honors in her first season as a starter in 2022, and who should be even more comfortable and in-sync with the rest of her teammates with a year under her belt.
The late return of Kolp and defensive specialist Audrey Riley, a key part of the Chargers' backrow alongside Wiese, is a big key for the Chargers. Both players decided to return for a fifth year after in the spring after initially being set to graduate, and greatly enhance Hillsdale's depth and experience on the court for the 2023 season.
One player won't replace what Shelton brought to the Chargers in 2022 on their own, but Hillsdale has no shortage of talented young players ready for bigger roles to help fill the void. Emory Braswell, Adi Sysum, Sydney Sahr and Amanda Hilliker, among others, all showed promise in 2022 and will battle for bigger roles this season. That's to say nothing of Hillsdale two redshirt freshmen who will be added to the fray, or their talented freshman class.
While Hillsdale has the makings of another excellent squad, they will face tough foes in 2023. 2022 G-MAC regular season champ Ashland and perennial title contender Findlay both suffered significant graduation and other losses this offseason, but both are still strong programs that will reload and remain in the mix. On the other end of the spectrum, Cedarville and Northwood were tough outs with young squads in 2022 and could both move into contention with nearly everyone back in 2023.
That sets the stage for exciting battles as Hillsdale looks to bring home another G-MAC crown in 2023.
You can find the full schedule at this link, and tickets for home matches are on sale at hillsdale.universitytickets.com.