G-MAC Players of the Week Link
The 16th-ranked Hillsdale College volleyball team got the season off to a strong start in Kansas City, Missouri this past weekend, going 3-1 at the Rockhurst Invitational with two thrilling five-set victories on the final day.
That impressive opening weekend has already earned Hillsdale some hardware, as senior outside hitter Karoline Shelton and sophomore libero Alli Wiese combined to sweep the first G-MAC North Division Player of the Week awards, the conference office announced on Monday.
Shelton was named the G-MAC North Division Offensive Player of the Week, her ninth G-MAC weekly honor in a storied career now in its fifth season at Hillsdale. The senior led the Chargers offensively in all four matches with double-digit kills, including two 15 kill matches, and finished with 56 total kills on the weekend and 3.29 kills per set. The versatile all-around player also recorded 46 digs (2.71 per set) and 12 block assists (0.71 per set) while posting double-doubles in three of the four matches,
It's an excellent start to a promising senior campaign for Shelton, who earned AVCA third team All-American honors in 2021, was named the G-MAC Player of the Year in the spring 2021 season, and is a three-time first team All-G-MAC honoree. She's one of just two players in program history to exceed both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in her career at Hillsdale, and now ranks eighth all-time in both categories with 1,143 kills and 1,257 digs.
Wiese, meanwhile, was named G-MAC North Division Defensive Player of the Week for the fifth time in her young career, after achieving a notable milestone this weekend. In Hillsdale's final match of the invite against Black Hills State, Wiese became the 12th Charger in program history to surpass 1,000 digs for her career, now sitting at 1,014 overall for the weekend. She's reached the mark in just over two seasons with the Chargers, and is on pace to challenge the school record in the stat of 2,251 digs held by her older sister, Taylor.
The sophomore libero had a strong weekend independent of any milestones, earning All-Tournament team honors for her consistent play. Wiese finished with 80 total digs in four matches, 4.71 per set, and three times had 20 or more digs in a match. She was also one of the Chargers' most effective servers, finishing with a team high six service aces on the weekend.
Shelton, Wiese and the Chargers return to Hillsdale this weekend to host the Hillsdale "Net Results" Invite, with three other AVCA Top 25 ranked teams scheduled to be in attendance. Hillsdale opens up the invitational on Thursday with a match against #20 Ferris State, who the Chargers defeated 3-1 in the 2021 NCAA DII Midwest Regional Final to reach the Elite Eight. Hillsdale also will get a rematch with #18 Gannon, the team that ended the Chargers' NCAA Tournament run in Tampa, as well on Friday.