The Hillsdale College volleyball team looked the part of the top-ranked team in the nation on Saturday.
The Chargers completed a three-win week with a 25-15, 25-4, 25-14 sweep of visiting Lake Erie, improving to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in G-MAC play.
Hillsdale used its substantial size advantage at the net to overwhelm the Storm both offensively and defensively, finishing with 37 kills on a .345 hitting percentage to Lake Erie's 20 kills on a .011 hitting percentage, and also finishing with eight total blocks in the victory.
Fresh off her 1,000th kill on Friday night against Davenport, senior Allyssa Van Wienen led the Chargers offensively again on Saturday, finishing with nine kills on a .500 hitting percentage, and also chipping in five service aces, just one shy of tying the single-match school record.
Once again, Hillsdale's offensive balance stood out in the victory. Along with Van Wienen's nine kills, eight other Chargers each had at least one kill in the match. Junior Maggie DePorre chipped in seven kills for Hillsdale, sophomore Megan Kolp added six kills and two block assists, and junior Karoline Shelton added five kills, six digs, three aces and two block assists.
Freshman Maizie Brown also had a solid match for the Chargers, chipping in four kills and four block assists.
Senior Lindsey Mertz had a strong day setting up the Charger offense, finishing with an efficient 25 assists, chipping in two kills and adding three block assists of her own.
Senior Madie Schider and freshman Allie Wiese each finished with eight digs to lead the Chargers defensively.
Hillsdale had a huge advantage at the service line in the contest, serving 11 aces as a team in the victory, with three service errors, while Lake Erie finished with just one ace and committed eight service errors.
At 6-0 in G-MAC play, Hillsdale stands alone as the only remaining unbeaten team in the conference, and will look to take a big step toward a fourth-straight G-MAC regular season championship against the current second place team, 13th-ranked Findlay, in their next match on Friday, Feb. 19 at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.
Photo by Anthony Lupi