2018 D2CCA All-Midwest Region Volleyball Release
If a volleyball team has two players named All-Region, it means it has been blessed with some gifted players and had an excellent won-loss record.
The 2018 Hillsdale College volleyball team had FOUR All-Region players.
Senior right-side hitter Paige VanderWall became the fourth player in school history to be named the Midwest Region Player of the Year as part of the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association All-Region program. VanderWall was joined on the First Team by sophomore setter Lindsey Mertz and sophomore middle hitter Allyssa Van Wienen. Senior outside hitter Kara Vyletel was named Second-Team All-Region.
The D2CCA All-Region program is one where players are nominated and voted on by sports information directors in the Midwest Region. Hillsdale's three First-Team selections are now automatically eligible for All-American status, and VanderWall is one of eight finalists for 2018 Division II D2CCA National Player of the Year.
No other team in the Midwest Region had more than two All-Region players.
VanderWall added to her growing legacy by joining Taryn Rudland, Melissa Bartlett and Ashlee Crowder as Hillsdale College volleyball players who were named the best in the Midwest. She had an extraordinary season, totaling 402 kills and 300 digs as the team enters NCAA Tournament play this week. She's the first player in school history with 400 or more kills and 300 or more digs in a season since the NCAA went to the current 25-point rally score format. She was the G-MAC Player of the Year and the conference leader in kills per set (4.19) while ranking third in hitting percentage (.333).
In just her second season, Mertz has established herself as one of the region's elite setters. A First-Team All-G-MAC selection, Mertz led the conference by averaging 12.22 assists per set, which if it stands, would be a G-MAC single-season record. She tied a G-MAC single-match record with 61 assists in a conference tournament semifinal win over Lake Erie Nov. 9. Her six matches of 50-plus assists are the most of any player at Hillsdale in the past 10 years.
Van Wienen was fourth in the G-MAC with a .321 hitting percentage and played her best against the toughest competition. Her 15 kills against defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul Aug. 23 were her season-high until she put down 16 in the G-MAC Tournament Semifinal. She was third on the team in kills and first in total blocks.
Vyletel ranks fourth in school history in career kills with 1,305 and has been explosive and reliable throughout her career. She has three seasons of 300 or more kills, with 315 this season for the back-to-back G-MAC champions.