New faces and surprises have been the name of the game so far in the 2021 G-MAC Volleyball Tournament.
The ostensibly lower seeded team went on the road and won both quarterfinal matches on Tuesday, producing a field that's light on prior G-MAC final four experience but filled with hungry squads peaking at the right time. Of the four semifinalists, there are two -- Ashland and Ohio Dominican -- who have been in this position before in other conferences but are reaching the semifinal round in the G-MAC for the first time, and a third, Trevecca Nazarene, who hasn't made it this far since 2015.
Then, there's Hillsdale. The top seed and tournament host has won four straight G-MAC Tournament titles and will be going for their fifth in a row this weekend. In five seasons in the G-MAC, the Chargers have never lost a G-MAC Tournament match, and have been taken to five sets only once, by Cedarville, in last spring's semifinal round.
The challengers to the Chargers' throne are new, and they're certainly talented. Do they have what it takes to pull a shocking upset and seize the crown and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament? We're going to find out this Friday and Saturday.
Schedule
Semifinal #1: Trevecca Nazarene (19-10, 9-7 G-MAC) at #18 Hillsdale (25-4, 16-0 G-MAC) | 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Semifinal #2: Ashland (17-12, 13-3 G-MAC) vs Ohio Dominican (17-13, 9-7 G-MAC) | 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Final: Semifinal #1 winner vs Semifinal #2 winner | 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Follow/Watch
Semifinal #1 Live Stats | Semifinal #1 Video | Semifinal #2 Live Stats | Semifinal #2 Video | Semifinal Tickets | Final Tickets
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Trevecca Roster | Ashland Roster | ODU Roster | 2021 Hillsdale Stats | 2021 Trevecca Stats | 2021 ODU Stats
Players to Watch
Hillsdale: #7 Karoline Shelton, Jr., OH, Shawnee, KS/Mission South (5th G-MAC in K/S, 5th in P/S, 6th in D/S, 11th in hitting %); #9 Allyssa Van Wienen, Sr., MH, Grand Rapids, MI/Christian (1st G-MAC in B/S, 10th in K/S, 7th in P/S, 5th in hitting %); #4 Alli Wiese, Fr., L/DS, Mattawan, MI/Mattawan (2nd G-MAC in D/S, 4th in SA/S), #15 Lindsey Mertz, Sr., S, Frankenmuth, MI/Frankenmuth (1st G-MAC in A/S)
Trevecca: #16 Ellie Buffler, Jr., OH, Nashville, TN/Hume-Fogg (7th G-MAC in K/S, 1st in SA/S, 6th in P/S); #8 Austyn Baldwin, Sr., MB, Kingston Springs, TN/Harpeth (4th G-MAC in hitting %, 10th in B/S), #22 Chloee McDaniel, Jr., S, Hendersonville, TN/Beech, Missouri St. University (6th G-MAC in A/S); #4 Claire Hindman, Sr., L/DS, Westfield, IN/Westfield (9th G-MAC in D/S)
Ashland: #16 Erin Krupar, Sr., OH, East Sparta, OH/Canton Central (2nd G-MAC in K/S, 1st in P/S); #14 Zoey Peck, Sr., S, Homeworth, OH/Marlington (4th G-MAC in A/S); #17 Anna Krikke, Jr., MB, North Royalton, OH/North Royalton (6th G-MAC in B/S); #11 Katie Thompson, So., DS/L, Independence, OH/Padua Franciscan (1st G-MAC in D/S)
Ohio Dominican: #21 Emilee Fecht, Jr., MB, Hilliard, OH/Davidson (8th G-MAC in K/S, 8th in P/S, 9th in hitting %); #6 Olivia Kirksey, So., RS, Reynoldsburg, OH/Reynoldsburg (9th G-MAC in K/S, 9th in P/S); #12 Carleigh Deitsch, Jr., S/DS, St. Henry, OH/St. Henry (3rd G-MAC in A/S, 7th in SA/S); #1 Kelsey Shoup, So., DS/L, Dalton, OH/Dalton (4th G-MAC in D/S)
Scouting the Contenders
Hillsdale: Hillsdale has its sights set on a fifth-straight G-MAC tournament title, to add to its fifth-straight G-MAC regular season title and fourth-straight undefeated season in conference play.
The Chargers return every player that saw action in the partial spring 2021 season, including four players who were slated to graduate in the spring of 2021 but who couldn't pass up the opportunity to make one more run at NCAA glory after a Covid-19 waiver was extended to preserve their eligibility.
That core group of unprecedented fifth-year players – Allyssa Van Wienen, Lindsey Mertz, Madie Schider and Maddie Clark – is just the tip of the iceberg on a loaded and talented roster that may be the deepest in Hillsdale College history.
Van Wienen, a consensus 2019 All-American and the 2019 G-MAC Player of the Year, is joined up front by junior Karoline Shelton, who was the G-MAC Player of the Year in the 2021 spring season, along with a host of past All-G-MAC honorees – senior Maggie DePorre, sophomore Megan Kolp, and freshman Maizie Brown (who played with the Chargers in the spring) – to give Hillsdale a formidable group of hitters.
The decorated Mertz, who holds both Hillsdale's single season and career assist records, conducts the offense from the setter position, and Hillsdale proved in the spring it has a capable backup in Madeline Zenas, who was named to the All-G-MAC third team after filling in for Mertz following an injury.
In the back row, Schider, top 10 in program history in digs, is joined by sophomore Audrey Riley and freshman Alli Wiese, a breakout star at libero who earned first-team All-G-MAC honors in the spring, to give the Chargers an elite back row.
Returning Chargers at all positions have been pushed by a strong and talented five-player freshman class who've augmented the Chargers already enviable depth
Coaching the Chargers for the 26th 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 eight conference regular season titles, seven 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.
Trevecca: The runner-up in the G-MAC South Division, the Trojans have been a tough team to figure out this season, alternating impressive wins against other contenders with head-scratching losses and near-losses to teams that didn't make the tournament.
What's not in doubt is the team's talent. Trevecca is reaping the dividends of a youth movement begun two seasons ago, when then first-year head coach Emily Moore turned the program over to a promising group of freshmen and sophomores.
That core – led by spring 2021 G-MAC First Teamer Austyn Baldwin and 2019 G-MAC Freshman of the Year Ellie Buffler – helped the Trojans to back-to-back G-MAC tourney appearances and appears to now be coming of age at the right time to make a title push.
Trevecca boasts one of the league's more potent offenses (third in hitting percentage and sixth in kills per set) as well as a strong defense at the net, conceding the second-fewest kills per set of any team in the G-MAC.
Moore, now in her third season as a head coach, has had the Trojans on a consistently upward trajectory over her time in Nashville and leads the team again this season.
Ashland: The G-MAC's newest member, Ashland was expected to be a contender right out of the gate and has overcome a rocky start to claim the G-MAC South Division title, a first-round bye in the G-MAC tournament, and the spot as the most threatening challenger to Hillsdale's five-year reign of dominance in the league.
Ashland has at its disposal one of the most gifted offensive weapons in the conference, senior outside hitter Erin Krupar, who leads the G-MAC in points per set. Freshmen Sage Kissman and Graceann Hartman give the Eagles alternative options at the net.
Defensively, libero Katie Thompson leads the G-MAC in digs per set by a significant margin and has been a difference-maker for the Eagles since breaking into the lineup midway through the season.
The Eagles have been above-average offensively and defensively throughout the season, with a knack for pulling out close sets and performing at a high level when it counts in conference matches. That makes Ashland a dangerous opponent for any team in the league.
Ashland is coached by Kevin Foeman, who has a 75-34 record in his fourth season with the Eagles. Foeman came to Ashland with his wife and assistant, Remy, after a successful tenure as the head coach at Lake Erie, and also spent three years as an assistant at Hillsdale.
Ohio Dominican: After a surprise G-MAC tournament bid last season, the Panthers have continued their upward trend and earned a repeat bid from the G-MAC South Division in the 2021 season, as well as its first-ever G-MAC semifinal trip.
ODU accomplished its goal with one of the deepest and most balanced offenses in the conference, led by junior Emilee Fecht and sophomore Olivia Kirksey, both in the top 10 in the league in kills per set. Strong play from several other hitters has allowed the Panthers to keep opposing defenses off-balance and made them extremely tough to defend.
ODU also boasts a solid defense, with sophomore libero Kelsey Shoup playing a big role. The Panthers face a big semifinal test against an Ashland squad that finished ahead of them in the G-MAC South and beat them twice in four-set matches, but ODU has shown the capacity to surprise this season, not least with Tuesday's semifinal win over favored Findlay.
The Panthers are coached by Amy Bambanek, who was the co-Coach of the Year in the G-MAC last season, and who is rapidly turning ODU into a consistent contender in the G-MAC in just her second year.
Other Notes
- There's a wide disparity in G-MAC tournament history among the four semifinalists. Hillsdale has won every G-MAC tournament it's been a part of since joining the league in 2017, and is going for its fifth-straight title. Trevecca Nazarene has made three semifinal appearances, but none since the G-MAC expanded to 12 teams in in 2017, with their most recent run coming in 2015. For Ohio Dominican and Ashland, this is their first ever G-MAC Tournament semifinal appearance. Ashland made it in its debut season after leaving the GLIAC following the 2021 season, while ODU is reaching this stage for the first time since joining the G-MAC in 2017. Adding to the drama is that for the Panthers, Eagles and Trojans, any hope of extending their season and earning an NCAA Tourney bid depends upon taking down Hillsdale and becoming the G-MAC Tourney champ in order to secure the automatic bid.
- Hillsdale was ranked in the AVCA DII Top 25 poll for the 39th consecutive week on Nov. 15, 2021, coming in at 18th after starting the season 13th. 39 weeks in the poll is a program record for consecutive weeks as a ranked team, surpassing the longest previous stretch in program history from 2006-2008.
- The Chargers were third in the Midwest Region in the NCAA Division II Regional Rankings on Nov. 10. Hillsdale is behind current top-ranked Michigan Tech and second-place Ferris State after losses to the Huskies and Bulldogs, but ahead of Lewis and Missouri St. Louis, both of whom it beat earlier in the year. The announcement of the NCAA Tournament field will be on Monday, Nov. 22 at 7:30 p.m.
- Charger senior Lindsey Mertz achieved something special earlier this season, breaking Hillsdale's career record for assists set by Stephanie Booms from 2004-08. Mertz, who has 4,942 assists for her career, already set the Charger single-season school record for assists with 1,264 in 2019, and is among the national leaders for setters once again, currently ranking seventh in Division II with 11.52 assists per set. Mertz also became the first Charger to make the Midwest Crossover All-Tournament team three times in her career, adding to honors received in 2017 and 2018.
- Defensively, libero Alli Wiese continues to shine after a strong start, earning G-MAC North Division Player of the Week honors for the second straight week and the fourth time this season on Wednesday. A spring 2021 first-team All-G-MAC player, Wiese is first in the G-MAC and is 28th in Division II in digs per set with 5.37. Her 499 digs in the season so far are already in the top 10 all-time for a single season at Hillsdale with at least three matches remaining in the year. She's also a strong server and currently sits fourth in the G-MAC with 0.39 aces per set, and 36 total on the season.
- Senior middle hitter Allyssa Van Wienen is among the national leaders in blocks per set, currently sitting in the top 50 in Division II with 1.09 blocks per set and tied for 12th in total solo blocks with 29. Both an All-American (in 2019) and an Academic All-American (in spring 2021), Van Wienen continues to climb the career statistical ranks at Hillsdale, sitting third all-time in program history in kills (1,378) after passing former All-American Taryn Rudland last weekend, and also fifth among Chargers all-time in total blocks, with 407.
- Junior outside hitter Karoline Shelton became just the 11th player in Hillsdale history to surpass 1,000 digs for her career earlier in the season, and now has 1,088 entering this weekend. The Shawnee, Kansas native had a break-out campaign in the spring 2021 season, earning G-MAC Player of the Year honors and leading the Chargers in kills. Shelton's all-around versatility is impressive – with 997 kills in her career so far to go along with those digs, she needs just three kills on Friday to becomr just the second player in program history with 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career with another season of eligibility remaining after this one.