Examine the box score from Friday night's volleyball match and there weren't a lot of attractive numbers to look at.
Except for the final score.
The Chargers struggled - mightily at times - but put away Trevecca Nazarene University 3-0 in Nashville to stay unbeaten in Great Midwest Athletic Conference play. Hillsdale is now 18-6 overall and 15-0 in the G-MAC.
This was the team's seventh consecutive match away from home, and it was going up against an opponent who played with energy and emotion throughout. Hillsdale won the three sets by one more point total than the minimum required - 25-23, 26-24, 25-22.
Hillsdale committed 23 hitting errors, its third-most in a match this year and its .157 team hitting percentage for the match was its worst in a victory this season.
Trevecca was limited to a .137 hitting percentage for the match.
But despite all that, the team was able to step up with key plays in critical times in all three sets to earn the victory. The Trojans led after the score was 20-20 in all three sets. That just showed how Hillsdale was able to either make positive plays on offense, or prevent negative plays on defense, to cross that 25-point threshhold, if not by a wide margin, at least before its opponents did.
Sophomore Maddie clark came off the bench to provide the team a nice spark in the third set, finishing with three kills in the set. Sophomore Allyssa Van Wienen led the team overall with 11 kills. Senior Kara Vyletel had a nice all-around match with 10 kills, a .364 hitting percentage, 4 digs and 4 total blocks.
Sophomore setter Lindsey Mertz had 28 assists and 3 digs, while Taylor Wiese led the defense with 13 digs.
PHOTO: Todd Lancaster