A retooled Hillsdale College volleyball team took the court in Kansas City, Missouri on Friday, opening the 2022 season at the Rockhurst Invitational.
In the team's first action since its 2021 NCAA DII Elite Eight appearance, the Chargers, ranked 16th in the AVCA Preseason NCAA DII top 25, split two hard fought matches, sweeping Minnesota State Mankato in the afternoon before falling to host Rockhurst in four sets in the nightcap.
#16 Hillsdale 3, Minnesota State Mankato 0
The Chargers kicked off the season with a hard-fought victory over a tenacious Minnesota State squad, pulling out the sweep in close sets, 25-21, 28-26 and 25-21.
In sets one and two, Hillsdale built big early leads and held off late Maverick comebacks to take the sets. The Chargers led 15-7 in the first set thanks to an 8-1 run that included two kills, a block and a service ace. Minnesota State closed to within two, 23-21, late, but Hillsdale used a kill from Karoline Shelton to put the set away.
The Chargers continued to play well early in set two, taking a 14-10 lead midway through the set and stretching it to a 19-14 advantage off of a 4-0 run, including back-to-back kills by Shelton. After fending off a Minnesota State rally, Hillsdale went up 24-21 and had a chance to close out the set, but the Mavericks reeled off the next three points to tie the set at 24-all.
Despite the pressure, the Chargers kept their composure and held on, scoring four of the final six points to go up 2-0 in the match. Shelton and sophomore Maizie Brown combined on the set-clinching block to give Hillsdale a 28-26 victory.
Backs against the wall, Minnesota State came out swinging in set three, hanging close with the Chargers throughout and taking a 20-17 lead late in the set, looking to stay alive. The Chargers, however, shut the door with some of their best play of the match, reeling off seven straight points to turn a 20-17 deficit into a 24-20 lead. Shelton had three kills in that 7-0 run to help the Chargers put the match away.
The story of the match was Hillsdale's defense at the net. The Chargers held the Mavericks to a .085 hitting percentage and forced Minnesota State into 28 attack errors, thanks in no small part to 11 blocks by Hillsdale's front-row players. Sophomore Maizie Brown led the Chargers' effort with a career-high eight total blocks, including three solo blocks. That strong defensive play helped the Chargers overcome an uneven hitting performance of their own and take the sweep.
Shelton finished 12 kills, 11 digs and four block assists to lead the Chargers offensively, and sophomore Marilyn Popplewell chipped in 11 kills as well. Hillsdale totaled an impressive 71 digs in the match, led by sophomore libero Alli Wiese, who finished with 21 digs and two aces. Sophomore Amy Buffini finished with 15 digs as well, while sophomore Sydney Sahr chipped in a career-high five kills and three block assists.
Sophomore Lauren Passaglia was the Chargers' setter in the victory, finishing with a career-high 33 assists.
Rockhurst 3, #16 Hillsdale 1
Hillsdale struggled to match the fast starts it had against the Mavericks in its final match of the day against host Rockhurst, and early deficits proved to be too much for the Chargers to overcome in a 19-25, 16-25, 25-21, 23-25 loss to the tournament host and a Midwest Regional foe.
The Chargers got into deep holes early in both the first and second sets, trailing 12-5 in set one and 14-9 in set two, and were unable to fully close the deficit in either case to fall behind two sets to none to the Hawks.
Facing the prospect of getting swept, the Chargers showed grit, overcoming multiple deficits in set three and scoring the final five points to stay alive. Sahr had a crucial block and the set-sealing kill late to help Hillsdale cut the deficit to 2-1.
Hillsdale came very close to evening the match in the fourth set, once again overcoming multiple deficits to tie the set at 21-all, but Rockhurst responded with three points in a row to take a 24-21 edge it wouldn't relinquish on the way to closing out the match.
The Chargers hung tough with solid defensive play to stay in the match, forcing Rockhurst into 21 attack errors in the final two sets, but couldn't overcome their own offensive struggles in the loss, hitting just .101 with 28 attack errors in the defeat.
Shelton led Hillsdale with 15 kills and 12 digs in the match, while senior Megan Kolp matched her career-high in a four-set match with 11 kills and chipped in four block assists as well. Wiese led the Chargers defensively with 20 digs, while senior Madeline Zenas, Passaglia and senior Audrey Riley split the setting duties, with Zenas leading Hillsdale with 16 assists, Passaglia chipping in 14 and Riley adding seven.
Hillsdale (1-1) is back in action on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET against Missouri Western State (0-2), looking to build off of today's defensive performance while continuing to improve offensively. After playing the Griffons at 1 p.m., the Chargers will wrap up the Rockhurst Invitational with a match against Black Hills State (1-1) at 5 p.m.