With her team leading 13-9 in the first set over visiting Davenport on Friday, Hillsdale College senior middle hitter Allyssa Van Wienen went to a move she's used hundreds of times in her four year career, sliding right behind setter Lindsey Mertz in the front row as Mertz passed her the ball, then hitting cross-court with a thunderous kill for a Charger point.
It's been a familiar sight for four years at Hillsdale, but this one for Van Wienen was special. The kill was the senior's 1,000th of her career, achieving a milestone only a select group of hitters have reached over the years at Hillsdale College.
Van Wienen also helped lead the Chargers to victory on her milestone night, as the top-ranked Chargers held off a solid Davenport team in a 25-17, 25-19, 25-19 victory to improve to 7-0 on the year.
The senior middle hitter from Grand Rapids, Michigan led the Chargers with eight kills on the night on a .467 hitting percentage, and added four digs and three block assists as well.
It was a bit of a disjointed night for Hillsdale, which had its second-worst hitting percentage of the season and trailed at points in all three sets. But Hillsdale overcame its miscues with offensive balance, as 10 different Charger players finished with at least one kill in the match, and stepping up their play late in sets to pull off the sweep.
The Chargers trailed 8-6 early in the first set, but scored seven of the next eight points, keyed by two Van Wienen kills, to seize control of the set from Davenport and pull away.
The Panthers pushed the Chargers even harder in the second set, leading 17-15 deep into the set, but the Chargers again put together a six-point run, thanks to two service aces from Madie Schider, to take command of the set and go up 2-0.
Davenport made one final push in the third set, taking an 18-17 lead at one point, but Hillsdale scored eight of the final nine points to seal the sweep and a seventh-straight victory.
Junior Karoline Shelton chipped in six kills, two service aces and nine digs for the Chargers, Megan Kolp added five kills and two blocks, and Maggie DePorre and Maizie Brown each chipped in three kills as well.
Madie Schider led the Charger defense with 13 digs and Alli Wiese chipped in nine on the night, whil setter Lindsey Mertz added 20 assists and Madeline Zenas chipped in seven.
The Chargers finish a busy week with a home match against Lake Erie on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. Hillsdale is looking to maintain sole possession of first place in the G-MAC against the Storm at 5-0 overall in conference play.
Photo by Gwen Buchhop
