The Hillsdale College volleyball team stayed undefeated in its home invitational and picked up two critical wins in a strong showing on Friday.
The Chargers handed undefeated Missouri S&T their first loss in the afternoon, then got revenge against Gannon, the team that knocked them out of the NCAA Tournament in 2021, in the evening to improve to 6-1 overall with one match remaining in its home invitational.
#22 Hillsdale 3, Missouri S&T 1
First, the Chargers cooled off a red-hot Missouri S&T team in a four-set victory, 25-15, 17-25, 25-22, 25-14.
Hillsdale jumped out to big early leads in both the first and second sets, pulling away in the first set but falling victim to a Miner comeback in set two to tie the match at one-apiece.
The critical third set was back and forth the entire way. Tied at 22-all, Hillsdale seized control on a kill by senior Karoline Shelton, scoring the final three points to secure the set.
Another fast start in set four put the match away for the Chargers. Hillsdale took a 16-6 lead with a balanced offensive showing from a variety of players and never looked back to claim a critical Midwest regional victory.
Hillsdale hit a scoring .302 for the match, led by sophomore Marilyn Popplewell, who finished with 15 kills, and sophomore Maizie Brown, who added 12 kills and seven total blocks.
The Chargers' dominance at the net played a big role in the outcome, as Hillsdale finished with 13 total blocks to Missouri S&T's one in the contest.
Karoline Shelton chipped in 11 kills and 15 digs for her fifth double-double of the year, Amy Buffini added 18 digs, and Alli Wiese and Audrey Riley each chipped in 17 digs as well.
Sophomore setter Lauren Passaglia set a career high with 48 assists and added eight digs, two aces and four kills as well, while Megan Kolp chipped in four kills and five block assists.
#22 Hillsdale 3, #17 Gannon 0
The Chargers finished the night by getting revenge on the Golden Knights, who beat Hillsdale in four sets in the NCAA DII Elite Eight the last time the two teams had met.
Although the Chargers got the sweep, it was a hard-fought match with close sets throughout. Hillsdale perservered, however, and pulled out a 25-23, 33-31, 25-22 victory in the battle of AVCA Division II Top 25 ranked teams.
The Chargers were clutch when it counted in all three sets. A critical block by sophomores Sydney Sahr and Passaglia gave Hillsdale the breathing room it needed to close out the first set, then the Chargers outlasted the Golden Knights in a marathon second set, taking advantage of Gannon miscues down the stretch to hold on.
With a chance to close out the match in set three, the Chargers didn't disappoint, overturning a 21-20 deficit by scoring five of the final six points. Shelton and Popplewell each finished with two kills in that stretch to help the Chargers get over the top.
Popplewell wrapped up a stellar day for Hillsdale by tying her career high with 18 kills to lead the Chargers in the victory, and Karoline Shelton chipped in 13 kills and 25 digs as well. Maizie Brown chipped in seven kills and Madeline Zenas added six kills and 11 digs for the Chargers.
Alli Wiese chipped in 22 digs defensively for Hillsdale in the win, and Passaglia had another strong game as a setter, with 45 assists and 12 digs.
Hillsdale (6-1) has already wrapped up the invitational title, having guaranteed themselves at least a 3-1 record, and securing the tiebreakers against every team that could match them, but the Chargers will still be motivated to finish the tournament undefeated and pick up another resume-boosting win against 14th-ranked Colorado School of Mines in the tournament finale on Saturday at 4 p.m.
Photo by McKenna Eichholz