It seems like it's just begun, but the shortened spring 2021 volleyball season has already passed the halfway point.
The top-ranked Hillsdale College volleyball team has been rolling through the season at 8-0 so far, but will get its biggest test to date this weekend, with no less than three ranked teams coming to Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena in a row for a series of high-stakes matches.
The action starts on Tuesday with a 7 p.m. match against 19th-ranked Tiffin, then the Chargers host back-to-back matches against 22nd-ranked Ohio Dominican and 24th-ranked Gannon, also both at 7 p.m., on Friday and Saturday.
While complying with MDHHS orders, Hillsdale College is now allowing a limited number of fans to attend games at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena for the remainder of the season. You can find more details at this link, and you can also find links to ticket pages for each game below. Tickets will not go on sale until 24 hours before each match.
You can also follow along with all the action on the Great Midwest Digital Network. Links to both live stats and the streaming webcast for each match are below.
Schedule
#19 Tiffin (6-2, 6-2 G-MAC) at #1 Hillsdale (8-0, 6-0 G-MAC) | 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 23 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
#22 Ohio Dominican (6-2, 6-2 G-MAC) at #1 Hillsdale (8-0, 6-0 G-MAC) | 7:00 p.m. Friday, Feb. 26 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
#24 Gannon (2-0) at #1 Hillsdale (8-0, 6-0 G-MAC) | 7:00 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Follow/Watch
Live Stats vs Tiffin | Webcast vs Tiffin | Live Stats vs ODU | Webcast vs ODU | Live Stats vs Gannon | Webcast vs Gannon | Tickets
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Tiffin Roster | ODU Roster | Gannon Roster | 2021 Hillsdale Stats | 2021 Tiffin Stats | 2021 ODU Stats | 2021 Gannon Stats
Players to Watch
Hillsdale: #9 Allyssa Van Wienen, Sr., MH, Grand Rapids, MI/Christian (1st in G-MAC in hitting %, 6th in K/S, 3rd in B/S, 2nd in P/S); #15 Lindsey Mertz, Sr., S, Frankenmuth, MI/Frankenmuth (1st in G-MAC in A/S, 2019 1st Team All-G-MAC, 2nd Team All-Midwest); #7 Karoline Shelton, Jr., OH, Shawnee, KS/Mission South (8th in G-MAC in hitting %, 2nd in K/S, 3rd in SA/S, 1st in P/S); #4 Alli Wiese, Fr., L/DS, Mattawan, MI/Mattawan (5th in G-MAC in D/S, 4th in SA/S)
Tiffin: #8 Sam Fallis, Jr., DS, Toledo, OH/Sylvania Southview (1st in G-MAC in D/S, 2019 2nd team All-GMAC); #2 Loryn Huffman, Sr., S, McComb, OH/McComb (2nd in G-MAC in A/S, 2019 2nd team All-G-MAC); #5 Grace Schreiber, Sr., MH, Dublin, OH/Bishop Watterson (7th in G-MAC in hitting % 1st on team in K/S); #20 Alicia Kessler, Sr., MH/RS, Jackson Center, OH/Jackson Center, Lincoln Memorial University (2nd on team in K/S)
Ohio Dominican: #21 Emilee Fecht, So, MB, Hilliard, OH/Davidson (2nd in G-MAC in SA/S, 9th in G-MAC in P/S, 2019 2nd team All-G-MAC); #5 Abbi Gillson, Jr., MB, Canton, OH/Tuscarawas Valley, West Liberty University (2nd in G-MAC in B/S); #1 Kelsey Shoup, Fr., DS, Dalton, OH/Dalton (9th in G-MAC in D/S); #12 Carleigh Deitsch, So., S/DS, St. Henry, OH/St. Henry (1st on Team in A/S)
Gannon: #5 Ashley Beyers, Sr., S, Lanark, IL/Eastland (Honorable Mention All-American, 1st Team All-Region, 1st Team All-PSAC in 2019); #22 Ashley Kerestes, Sr., MB, Loves Park, IL/Rockford Lutheran (Honorable Mention All-American, 1st Team All-Region, 1st Team All-PSAC in 2019); #8 Lauren Sampson, Jr., OH, Hilliard, OH/Davidson (Honorable Mention All-Region, 2nd Team All-PSAC in 2019); #4 Ashley McClung, Jr., S/RS, Charleston, WV/George Washington (3rd Team All-PSAC in 2019)
Scouting the Opposition
Tiffin: The 2019 G-MAC regular season and tournament runner-up are still very much in the hunt in 2021 with an experienced roster.
While the Dragons lost All-American outside hitter Jenna Huffman to graduation Tiffin returns two other key pieces who earned second-team All-G-MAC honors in libero Sam Fallis and setter Loryn Huffman.
Replacing the elder Huffman has been a committee affair, with seniors Grace Schreiber and Alicia Kessler taking the lead for a balanced Tiffin offense.
At 6-2 and with a tough closing schedule, the Dragons can't afford more losses if they want to stay in the top four and in line to host a G-MAC Tournament quarterfinal, adding even more import to Tuesday's match.
Tiffin is coached by Shauna Hurles, who is in her fourth year as head coach of the Dragons. Hurles has led the Dragons to 19 or more wins in all three of her seasons in charge, and to back-to-back top three finishes in the G-MAC.
Ohio Dominican: A basement-dweller since joining the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in 2017, the Panthers have been one of the league's biggest and most pleasant surprises in 2021 under first-year head coach Amy Bambenek.
In just seven matches, ODU has surpassed or tied its win total in each of the last three seasons, and clinched its first-ever G-MAC tournament berth with five matches still to play.
Bambenek had a foundation piece to build around in 2019 All-G-MAC second teamer Emilee Fecht, but she's still done a masterful job of blending together returning talent with new faces like freshman libero Kelsey Shoup to produce one of the best teams the Panthers have ever fielded.
ODU has one of the best defensive teams in the conference, ranking first in opponent hitting percentage and opponent kills per set, and second in opponent blocks per set. The key for the Panthers is maintaining that form as the schedule gets tougher. The Panthers played just one of the other top five teams in the conference in a 6-1 start, but will play the other four in a row to end the regular season.
Prior to taking the job at ODU, Bambenek coached at Division I UNC-Wilmington, going 165-161 and leading the Seahawks to an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015.
Gannon: In a season where the Chargers face several tough opponents, Gannon looms largest as a consistent player on the national stage in Division II volleyball.
The Knights have made five NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances, including two in the last three seasons, and in 2019, where Gannon fell to eventual national runner-up Nebraska-Kearney in a four-set battle.
Gannon is an experienced squad that returns several key pieces from last year's team, including two honorable mention All-Americans in senior setter Ashley Beyers, and senior middle blocker Ashley Kerestes, as well as honorable mention All-Atlantic Region outside hitter Lauren Sampson and All-Conference right-side hitter Ashley McClung.
The back row is the question mark for the Knights, who must replace All-Region libero Toni Leitshuh as well as outside hitter Ally Smith, their second-best player in terms of digs per set in 2019. But Gannon is a program that's reloaded more than rebuilt over the last decade, so expect the Knights to have good answers for those questions in 2021.
Gannon is coached by Matt Darling, who in 13 seasons has guided the Knights to a 302-125 record, 10 straight seasons of 20 or more wins and NCAA Tournament appearances, two trips to the Division II Elite Eight, and the program's first-ever Final Four appearance in 2017, as well as its first conference title in 2012.
Scouting the Chargers
Currently the top-ranked team in the country, Hillsdale is chasing a fourth-straight G-MAC regular season and tournament title, and looks well on its way with a squad that's got a level of depth and talent that few Charger teams have had in head coach Chris Gravel's storied 25-year tenure.
All-American middle hitter Allyssa Van Wienen, and junior outside hitter Karoline Shelton have been a lethal 1-2 punch for the Chargers, combining for 175 kills between the two of them in eight matches and both holding hitting percentages of .325 or better.
Hillsdale's ability to spread the ball around to effective hitters, thanks to setters Lindsey Mertz and Madeline Zenas, is a large part of what makes the team so dangerous. Seven Chargers are averaging 1.5 or more kills per set through the team's first eight matches.
The Chargers also have played extremely clean volleyball so far. Hillsdale has a kill to attack error ratio of 3.23 in the five matches it's played, and has committed just 21 service errors and 24 reception errors. That lack of mistakes makes it extremely difficult for opponents to get back in the match if the Chargers' powerhouse offense can get out to an early lead.
Coaching the Chargers for the 25th year is Chris Gravel, who's built Hillsdale's program from the ground up and into one of the top programs in the Midwest Region. Under Gravel, the Chargers have won seven conference regular season titles, six conference tournament titles, made 12 NCAA Division II tournament appearances, won the Midwest Regional title in 2011, and reached the NCAA DII Final Four in that same year.
Other Notes
- Hillsdale is 16-1 all time against Tiffin, including 4-0 in matches since the Chargers joined the G-MAC in 2017. The Chargers are also undefeated against Ohio Dominican since joining the G-MAC and are 13-1 overall against the Panthers lifetime.
- The Chargers lead a long series with Gannon 21-12, with most meetings between the two coming during their shared time as members of the old GLIAC South Division from the mid 90s to the mid-2000s. The Knights have won two straight in the series, in 2016 and 2017, in the most recent meetings between the two schools. Those wins snapped an 11-match win streak for Hillsdale over Gannon prior to the 2016 contest.
- Hillsdale remained in the top spot in the AVCA Division II poll for the second-straight week last week. Prior to this season, the Chargers' highest ranking was third in the nation in the 2006 season. The last time the Chargers were ranked in the top five nationally prior to this season was 2011, when Hillsdale made its only NCAA Division II Final Four appearance in program history.
- Both Hillsdale and Tiffin are currently occupying their highest rankings in the AVCA poll in the history of either program, with the Chargers in the top spot and the Dragons ranked 19th. Tuesday's matchup will be a battle of the two highest-ranked teams combined in G-MAC volleyball history.
- Senior Allyssa Van Wienen hit a notable milestone the last time the Chargers took the court, surpassing 1,000 kills against Davenport on Friday, Feb. 12. Van Wienen needs just 31 kills to surpass Melissa Bartlett ('08)'s career total of 1,046 and break into the top 10 all time in Charger history in the statistic. She's already in the career top-10 in blocks for the Chargers, passing Emily Wolfert ('15) last week to move into 8th all time with 286 for her career.
- Junior Karoline Shelton has gotten off to a hot start to the spring 2021 season. Shelton is not only ranked in the G-MAC in multiple categories, she's also 13th among all Division II players in points per set (4.64) and 17th among all DII players in kills per set (3.96) through last weekend's games.
- Senior setter Lindsey Mertz is currently third in the nation in all of Division II with 11.43 assists per set through eight matches. At 3,866 for her career, Mertz needs just 774 assists to pass Stephanie Booms ('09) for the program's all-time record.
- Senior libero/defensive specialist Madie Schider now has 898 digs for her career and is 31 digs behind Amanda Proctor ('04) for 10th all-time in Charger history. Schider also has a very real chance to become the 10th player in program history with 1,000 digs.