The 22nd-ranked Hillsdale College volleyball team was in uncharted territory on Saturday night, and the situation demanded a response from the Chargers.
Coming off the first conference loss any player on Hillsdale's team had suffered in their entire collegiate careers on Friday night, it was clear the Chargers would have to dig deep and come back strong against a game Ohio Dominican squad on the road.
The Panthers did indeed push Hillsdale throughout the match, hoping to take advantage of Friday's defeat to pull another upset, but the Chargers kept their composure and gritted out a 17-25, 25-19, 25-21, 25-22 victory to get back on track.
Hillsdale started the match slow, as Ohio Dominican came out aggressively trying to put pressure on the Chargers and hit .239 with 16 kills to pull away and put Hillsdale at an early deficit.
The Chargers shook off whatever lingering effects remained from Friday's loss in the second set, however, and regained their composure, jumping out to an early 6-2 lead and seizing control with a 5-0 run in the middle of the set to pull away and even up the match.
With a set victory under their belts, Hillsdale was able to fully get back to playing the brand of volleyball it's been known for during its five-year reign atop the G-MAC -- high powered, ruthlessly efficient offense and strong defense. In the final two sets, Hillsdale hit .324 and .344, respectively, with 29 total kills to shake off a determined ODU squad and clinch the victory.
Along with efficiency, the Chargers also got back to a balanced offensive attack in Saturday's win. Senior Megan Kolp led Hillsdale with 10 kills and four block assists in the match, but was one of six Chargers to finish with five or more kills as Hillsdale used its full arsenal of weapons to keep ODU's defense guessing.
Marilyn Popplewell chipped in nine kills for Hillsdale, Karoline Shelton added seven kills, and Linnea Larson and Emory Braswell each chipped in six kills for the Chargers as well.
Sophomore libero Alli Wiese led the Chargers defensively with 24 digs, while fellow sophomore Amy Buffini had a huge night, finishing with a career-high four service aces to go along with 14 digs. Larson was extremely effective at the net as well for Hillsdale, adding eight total blocks to her six kills.
Setter Lauren Passaglia dished out 44 assists for the Chargers in the victory in a solid showing for the sophomore.
Now 15-3 overall and 8-1 in G-MAC play, Hillsdale heads into a critical week for its G-MAC title hopes. The Chargers start with a dangerous 7 p.m. Friday match at Tiffin where Hillsdale can't get caught looking ahead against a solid Dragons team. If Hillsdale can get a win there, it would set up a monumental match against Ashland on Saturday at 2 p.m. The undefeated Eagles lead the G-MAC South Division, and a head-to-head loss by the Chargers against Ashland would leave Hillsdale with very slim hopes of catching the Eagles for the right to host the G-MAC Tourney at the end of the regular season in November, as well as potentially putting it further behind G-MAC North Division leader Findlay in the race for that crown.
Photo by Anthony Lupi