The 18th-ranked Hillsdale College volleyball team locked up some hardware and moved one step closer to its season goals on Saturday with a road sweep of Walsh.
The 25-13, 25-18, 25-21 win improved the Chargers to 13-0 overall in G-MAC play and locked up at least a share of the G-MAC North Division title, Hillsdale's fifth-consecutive conference crown, with three matches left in the season.
The Chargers are three games ahead of second-place Findlay for the North Division title and three games ahead of both Findlay and Ashland for the best record in the G-MAC, and can clinch the outright North Division crown and the top seed in the upcoming G-MAC tournament next Friday against the Oilers.
Hillsdale dominated the first set against host Walsh, jumping out to a big early lead and never looking back. The next two sets were closer, but Hillsdale pulled away late in both thanks to a much stronger performance at the net, finishing with 44 kills on a .269 hitting percentage to the Cavaliers' 32 kills and .127 hitting percentage in the match.
After sitting out the Chargers' Friday night win over Malone, senior middle hitter Allyssa Van Wienen had a big match in her return to the court on Saturday, finishing with 11 kills on a .588 hitting percentage and adding two service aces and two blocks.
Junior outside Karoline Shelton led the Chargers with her 14th double-double of the season, finishing with a team-high 12 kills and 20 digs, and senior outside hitter Maddie Clark chipped in 10 kills to give the Chargers a third hitter in double-figures for the match.
Freshman libero Alli Wiese added 16 digs defensively for Hillsdale, sophomore Audrey Riley chipped in two service aces and senior setter Lindsey Mertz finished with 28 assists and chipped in four kills, seven digs and two blocks.
The Chargers (22-4, 13-0 G-MAC) have just three matches remaining in the regular season, all at home, beginning with a match against the second place team in the G-MAC North Division, Findlay, at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 5.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan