Hillsdale and Indianapolis have been frequent opponents in the NCAA regional tournament over the years, each of those six matchups landing in the epic category.
Thursday's match was no exception.
The Chargers scored the final four points of the fifth set in posting a thrilling 3-2 win over the Greyhounds in the Midwest Regional Quarterfinal match, played at Lewis University.
The win advances Hillsdale, 27-3 overall, to Friday's regional semifinal against Michigan Tech at 5:00 Central Time, 6:00 Eastern Time in Romeoville.
The Greyhounds came out hot in the opening set, winning 25-13. Hillsdale battled back in a tightly played second set, winning 26-24. That momentum blasted its way into set 3, a 25-16 Charger win. However, UIndy reversed that momentum with a 25-17 set 4 win.
Set 5 was as tightly played as you'd expect, with the teams basically trading one point for the other. The Greyhounds were closing in on the victory with a 13-11 lead. But that's when Hillsdale's talent and experience rose to the occasion.
Junior Allyssa Van Wienen put down a kill when she rotated back onto the court to make it a 13-12 score. She then teamed up with setter Lindsey Mertz on a stuff-block to tie the match at 13. Junior Karoline Shelton rose high and put the ball down hard with a kill to make it match point. After another long rally, Van Wienen put it away for the Chargers with her 16th kill of the night, clinching Hillsdale's first NCAA Tournament victory since 2012.
The Greyhounds actually had a higher hitting percentage than the Chargers (.204-.158), but Hillsdale's superior defense, to the tune of 15 total team blocks and 109 digs, turned out to be just enough of a margin for Hillsdale to move on.
UIndy played unbelievable defense of its own with 124 digs in the match, nullifying a lot of heavy hits from the Charger offense.
Van Wienen had stretches where she was simply unstoppable, piling up 10 total blocks – 2 solo, 8 assists – to go with her 16 kills. Five of those kills came in that critical fifth set.
Senior libero Taylor Wiese made her All-American case an open-and-shut question by setting a single-match school record with 40 digs to go along with 4 service aces. Wiese was at the top of her game, anticipating the Greyhound offense effectively and delivering pinpoint passes in a high-energy, high-stakes match.
Shelton was all over the court, finishing with 14 kills and 20 digs, but what is perhaps most impressive, is she didn't have a single hitting error in her career-high 68 attempts.
Junior Madie Schider played a steady back row for Hillsdale with 17 digs, getting better throughout the match. Junior setter Lindsey Mertz delivered 44 assists as well as 3 blocks and 12 digs, staying active in all situations. Maggie DePorre added 8 kills and Megan Kolp played strong in her NCAA debut with 6 kills and 5 blocks.
PHOTO: Steve Woltmann