Playing at home for the first time in nearly three weeks, the 22nd-ranked Hillsdale College volleyball team continued a recent hot streak with a sweep of visiting Kentucky Wesleyan.
The 25-20, 25-17, 25-18 victory over the Panthers is the Chargers' sixth-straight, and the fifth-straight sweep.
Hillsdale showcased its depth in the victory, with every player dressing for the Chargers seeing the floor and contributing.
Freshman Emory Braswell had a big final two sets to lead the Chargers offensively, finishing with a team-high seven kills and a .778 hitting percentage, while sophomore Jaclyn Wise also had an impressive contest with four kills and two block assists on a .385 hitting percentage as well.
Sophomore Marilyn Popplewell and senior Karlonie Shelton each chipped in five kills in limited playing time as well in the victory, freshman Adi Sysum and senior Emily Susitko each added three kills, and senior Linnea Larson chipped in two kills and three total blocks.
Sysum also had two aces for the Chargers, as did senior Madeline Zenas.
Defensively, Alli Wiese led Hillsdale with nine digs, and Zenas finished with 17 assists as three setters saw action for the Chargers. Lauren Passaglia chipped in 12 assists in her lone set of work as well.
The Chargers put up a similar number of kills to the Panthers, finishing with 36 to KWC's 34, but pulled away thanks to significantly better efficiency. Hillsdale hit .268 at the net with just 10 attack errors, while the Panthers hit .096 with 25 miscues on the attack.
Despite the sweep, Hillsdale had to battle through a tight first set. The Chargers initially jumped out to a 19-12 lead thanks to back-to-back kills by Popplewell and a Sysum service ace, but KWC was able to cut Hillsdale's edge to 23-20. Luckily, Wise got a critical kill to break a small Panther run and help secure the set.
In set two, Hillsdale pulled away with a massive 9-1 run that put the Chargers up 20-11. Hillsdale had three big blocks in that stretch, including a solo block by Larson that helped the Chargers build needed momentum after a disjointed start that included several missed serves by both teams.
Looking to close out the match in set three, the Chargers faced a back-and-forth battle early, leading just 16-15 at the midway point of the set, but a quick 4-0 run that included two service aces by Zenas in the span of three points helped Hillsdale pull away. Sysum closed out the set and the match with a solo block to seal the victory.
Hillsdale is now 12-2 overall, and remains in a three-way tie for first place atop the G-MAC North Division at 5-0 with Northwood and Findlay. The Chargers look to continue their winning ways on Saturday against a G-MAC South Division title contender, as Hillsdale hosts Trevecca Nazarene at 1 p.m. for an important contest.
Photo by Anthony Lupi