Hillsdale College students went through some intense testing in the classroom before the start of Fall Break earlier this week.
The Charger volleyball team passed its biggest test of the season away from the classroom Friday night in Ohio.
Avenging its last loss, coming six weeks ago, Hillsdale defeated Cedarville University 3-1 to improve to 21-3 overall and 11-2 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
This win was big in so many ways. Back on September 15, the Yellow Jackets handed the Chargers a 3-1 loss in Hillsdale in a match that frankly, the Chargers didn't play up to their potential. After taking a 1-0 lead in that match, Hillsdale's play deteriorated through the rest of the match, dropping three straight sets.
But since then? Hillsdale has improved its overall play while maturing impressively as a unit. That maturity was on display in front of a big and loud crowd at Cedarville (15-12, 10-3 G-MAC), perhaps the toughest venue for a visiting team in the G-MAC.
The Chargers finished set one on a 16-5 run, winning going away 25-15. Hillsdale's offense was efficient, hitting .375, and was led by freshman middle hitter Allyssa Van Wienen, who had 6 kills in the first set.
Set two saw the teams trade mini-runs back and forth. The Yellow Jackets held a 23-20 lead, but Hillsdale put a four-point burst on the home team, taking a 24-23 lead. But Cedarville counter-punched with three straight points to win the set 26-24, tying the match at one set apiece.
Hillsdale took a 5-1 lead in set two, only to see that lead burn away in a loss. But the Chargers exactly turned the tables on Cedarville, who took a 5-1 lead itself to open set four. Van Wienen again stepped up, registering two kills as part of a 5-0 Hillsdale run that erased that slow start and helped the team get back on track.
Cedarville had leads of 13-11 and 15-14 in the fourth set, but Hillsdale battled back once again. The Chargers ended the set on an 11-6 run with Van Wienen again dominating at the net.
In set four, it was Kara Vyletel's turn.
Vyletel, a junior outside hitter, had 7 kills in set four on her way to a match-high 17 for the Chargers. Her power and jumping ability proved to be too much for the G-MAC's best blocking team in Cedarville.
Both teams threw up terrific defense on the other, although coming in different forms. The Yellow Jackets, as is their custom, outblocked the Chargers 13-5. Reigning G-MAC Player of the Week Gabby Olson lived up to her reputation as the conference's best blocker with one solo and eight block assists in the match. How did Hillsdale counter that? Superior back-row defense, led by sophomore libero Taylor Wiese.
The AVCA, the sport's collegiate governing body, has special recognition for players who achieve 30 digs in a match. Wiese has come oh-so-close to that mark several times this season, but hasn't cracked the 30-dig barrier. Until Friday night. Wiese set a new career-high with 30 digs on the nose. Her outstanding defense was a big reason why Cedarville had a team hitting percentage of .139 in the match.
Van Wienen also set a new career-high in the match with 14 kills, to go along with a .407 hitting percentage. She answered the challenge of matching up against Olson, and was terrific throughout the match. Freshman Lindsey Mertz had 46 assists and 11 digs, and junior Paige VanderWall had 9 kills and 10 digs. Senior Jackie Langer was steady throughout the match for Hillsdale with 11 kills and 14 digs.