Volleyball Team Picked to Win the G-MAC in Preseason Coach's Poll

The Hillsdale College volleyball team finished the 2017 atop the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, winning the postseason tournament on its home court.

Conference coaches expect the Chargers to stay there in 2018.

Hillsdale was pegged the preseason favorite in both the West Division and overall in this year's preseason coach's poll, released by the conference office Wednesday morning. The Chargers picked up six first-place votes and their 82 poll points were number one overall in the league.

Longtime rival Findlay was picked second in the West, followed by G-MAC newcomer Tiffin. Walsh was voted the preseason favorite in the East Division, taking in six of a possible seven first-place votes. Defending East Division champion Lake Erie was picked second.

Few teams in Division II return the kind of firepower Hillsdale does in volleyball. Five starters, plus libero Taylor Wiese return, along with a deep bench of veteran talent across every position on the court. A strong freshman class reinforces that lineup, a team that has designs on a repeat championship, plus more.

WHO WE LOST: OH Jackie Langer

WHO WE HAVE BACK: Well, everyone else. Literally. All-American RS Paige VanderWall, All-American OH Kara Vyletel, setters Lindsey Mertz and Taylor Bennett, libero Taylor Wiese, DS Madie Schider, OHs Maddie Clark, Dani Jones, Emily Lachmann, MHs Allyssa Van Wienen, Hannah Gates, Veronica O'Connor, Christine Siddall

NEWCOMERS: OH Karoline Shelton, RS Emma Noskey, MH Samantha Malcolm, OH Maggie DePorre

VOLLEYS: This figures to be one of the most experienced Charger volleyball teams in recent years, losing just one player off last year's conference championship roster...VanderWall was the G-MAC Player of the Year and was the first right-side hitter in school history to earn AVCA All-American honors, landing on the Second Team...Vyletel was an honorable mention All-American selection, and needs just 10 kills to get to 1,000 for her career...VaderWall is also within range of 1,000 career kills, and should she get there, she and Vyletel will be just the second set of teammates with more than 1,000 kills in a career in school history, joining Ashlee Crowder and Clara Leutheuser (2011)...Mertz was the G-MAC and Midwest Region Freshman of the Year, the first player in program history to win both honors in a single season...Van Wienen led the G-MAC in hitting percentage and had an impressive freshman campaign in 2017...Wiese led the G-MAC in digs per set and returns for her third season as the starting libero...Young players like Clark and Schider have made big strides in their games since the conclusion of last season and round out a lineup that has few apparent weaknesses...Last year's conference tournament title was the fourth in school history, and the team qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional Tournament for the 10th time in the tenure of head coach Chris Gravel...The Chargers had a 22-match winning streak last season, which amazingly, is just the fourth-longest in school history.

2018 G-MAC Preseason Coach's Poll Results