In five years as a G-MAC member, the 18th-ranked Hillsdale College volleyball team has lost just one home match in conference play.
With North Division rival Malone visiting on Friday for the Chargers' home and conference opener, Hillsdale wasn't about to allow the Pioneers to be the second.
The Chargers took care of business in the match, dominating the first set and coming back strong after dropping the second to close out Malone in the third and fourth sets and secure a 25-12, 23-25, 25-16, 25-20 victory.
Hillsdale was in control for the entire first set, hitting .342 with 16 kills to Malone's .000 percentage and fout kills in the victory.
Junior Karoline Shelton had six of her match-high 15 kills in that set to lead the way, and freshman Maizie Brown chipped in four.
With a vastly different lineup in set two, the Chargers allowed the Pioneers to even up the match thanks to eight attack errors and two service errors that gave Malone 10 points to work with. The Pioneers also found their footing offensively, finishing with 13 kills of their own and a .333 hitting percentage in the second set.
Hillsdale bounced back in a big way in the third set to seize control of the match for good, using a big mid-set run to roll to a 25-16 victory, and maintained their edge through the fourth set to close out the match.
Along with her 15 kills, Shelton also chipped in 16 digs for her fifth double-double double of the season. Senior Allyssa Van Wienen added 11 kills and five total blocks as well for the Chargers, senior Maddie Clark chipped in 10 kills, and Brown and sophomore Megan Kolp each chipped in seven kills.
The Chargers emptied the bench in the victory, with 17 players appearing in the match and 14 recording at least one kill.
Libero Alli Wiese led the Chargers defensively with 19 digs and two aces, and senior Madie Schider chipped in 10.
Senior setter Lindsey Mertz had another solid game offensively, finishing with 37 assists and 10 digs in just three sets played for the Chargers, and sophomore Madeline Zenas finished with 15 assists, five kills and four digs in two sets as well.
The Chargers, now 7-2 overall and 1-0 in G-MAC play, are back in action tomorrow at 1 p.m. with another crucial match against Walsh at home. The Cavaliers were the regular-season G-MAC runner up behind the Chargers in the spring of 2021, and were picked to finish right behind Hillsdale in the North Division this season, but enter tomorrow's match hungry after a 3-0 sweep at the hands of Findlay on Friday.
Photo by Kasidy Carson '22
