For the second straight week, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference North Division awards are Hillsdale's and Hillsdale's alone.
The G-MAC office announced on Tuesday that the Chargers' Marilyn Popplewell and Alli Wiese had been named the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the North Division, giving Hillsdale both honors. The week prior, Karoline Shelton and Wiese had swept the awards for the Chargers.
The award is Popplewell's first weekly conference award, and it's well-deserved for the sophomore, who helped Hillsdale to a 3-1 record against four teams that are either ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 poll this past weekend to finish with the best record at the Chargers' home invitational.
Popplewell was named invitational MVP after finishing with 50 kills across four matches, and hitting .233 for the weekend. She played her best match in Hillsdale's best performance, tying her career high in kills with 18 in the Chargers' 3-0 sweep of #17 Gannon to avenge an Elite Eight loss last season to the Golden Knights.
The sophomore from Mason, Ohio is currently ranked eighth in the G-MAC in kills per set at 2.89, and making good on the promise of a breakout performance as a freshman in last season's NCAA Tournament, showing that her strong play in the Midwest Regional wasn't just a fluke but a harbinger of more to come.
Wiese, meanwhile, continues to perform with metronomic consistency for the Chargers as the team's libero, earning Outstanding Libero honors for the Hillsdale Invite this past weekend as well as Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second-straight time.
The sophomore from Mattawan, Michigan finished with 85 digs for the weekend to help Hillsdale to a 3-1 record in the invitational, averaging 5.67 digs per set and also chipping in five service aces. Her best match came against #17 Gannon, where she tied for the team lead iwth 25 digs in a three-set match. She's currently ranked third in the conference in digs per set with 5.16, and sits tied for 32nd nationally in the stat.
Popplewell, Wiese and the Chargers picked up another big Midwest Regional victory last night against Davenport, and look to carry the momentum of a solid first two weeks of the season into conference play this weekend, with matches at Lake Erie on Saturday and Ursuline on Sunday.
Photos by Isabella Sheehan