The third-ranked Hillsdale College volleyball team rallied from a rough first day at the AVCA Division II National Championship in Dallas, Texas, winning both matches on Thursday to secure the top seed in this weekend's Silver Bracket.
The morning started with a consolation pool match against eighth-ranked Gannon, who had handed Hillsdale its only regular season loss earlier in the year in a 3-1 match on Feb. 27. The Chargers won the first set 25-20, and, after Gannon responded by winning set two, won the third set, 25-22 as well, to take a 2-1 lead.
As expected in a matchup of two top-10 teams, Gannon refused to go quietly, pulling out the fourth set 25-22 to even up the match and force a deciding fifth set. The two teams went back and forth in the fifth, but Hillsdale pulled out the match by the slimmest of margins, 15-13, to get a confidence-building win and avenge the earlier loss.
Senior Allyssa Van Wienen led the Chargers against the Knights with 13 kills, four digs, a solo block and two block assists, and sophomore Megan Kolp had one of the best matches of her career, finishing with 12 kills on a .458 hitting percentage to help get Hillsdale over the top.
Defense played a key role in the Chargers' victory. Junior Karoline Shelton had a difficult offensive game as the focus of Gannon's defense, but led Hillsdale defensively with 20 digs and three service aces. Madie Schider chipped in 17 digs and two service aces for Hillsdale, Alli Wiese added 14 digs and two service aces, and Audrey Riley chipped in 11 digs and three service aces. Maizie Brown had a huge outing at the net with a solo block and seven block assists to go with five kills.
Hillsdale finished with 16 fewer kills than Gannon, but 11 aces and just one service error, as well as 12.5 blocks, helped the Chargers make up the deficit.
In their second match of the day, Hillsdale overwhelmed Texas Woman's University 25-13, 25-9, 25-13 to secure the top spot in the consolation pool. Van Wienen once again led the Chargers with eight kills, three solo blocks and two block assists, and Shelton chipped in seven kills, three aces and 12 digs.
Maggie DePorre and Megan Kolp each chipped in seven kills for the Chargers, and Wiese added 12 digs.
The Chargers will play in the Silver Bracket semifinal tomorrow, Friday at 10 a.m. Central Time against Henderson State, the fourth-place team in Pool A. Gannon will play Arkansas-Fort Smith in the other semifinal, with the two winners meeting in the Silver Bracket final on Saturday, April 17 at 10 a.m. Central.
Photo courtesy of the AVCA