Schedule
Hillsdale (15-3, 8-1 G-MAC) at Tiffin (9-11, 4-6 G-MAC) | 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7 | Gillmor Center | Tiffin, OH
Hillsdale (15-3, 8-1 G-MAC) at Ashland (14-5, 9-0 G-MAC) | 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 8 | Kates Gymnasium | Ashland, OH
Follow/Watch
Live Stats & Video | Tickets (Tiffin) | Tickets (Ashland)
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Tiffin Roster | Ashland Roster | 2022 Hillsdale Stats | 2022 Tiffin Stats | 2022 Ashland Stats
Players to Watch
Hillsdale: #7 Karoline Shelton, Sr., OH, Shawnee, KS/Mission South (5th G-MAC in K/S, 6th in P/S, 12th in D/S) #4 Alli Wiese, So., L/DS, Mattawan, MI/Mattawan (1st G-MAC in D/S, 14th in SA/S); #8 Maizie Brown, So., MH, Portage, MI/Central (2nd G-MAC in B/S); #13 Marilyn Popplewell, So., OH, Mason, OH/Mason (4th G-MAC in K/S, 7th in P/S); #11 Lauren Passaglia, So., S, Cary, IL/Cary Grove (3rd G-MAC in A/S)
Tiffin: #2 Clare Kwiatkowski, So., S, Sylvania, OH/Northview (9th G-MAC in A/S); #11 Diana Heitkamp, So., DS/L, New Bremen, OH/New Bremem (5th G-MAC in D/S); #16 Alivia Rew, Jr., MH/RS, Oregon, OH/Clay (9th G-MAC in B/S); #25 Wakaya Wilson, So., OH/DS, Columbus, OH/Thomas Worthington (1st Team in K/S)
Ashland: #9 Makenna Belcher, So., OH, Marengo, OH/Sparta Highland (6th G-MAC in K/S, 4th in SA/S, 5th in P/S); #11 Katie Thompson, Jr., L, Independence, OH/Padua Franciscan (3rd G-MAC in D/S); #14 Zoey Peck, Sr., S, Homeworth, OH/Marlington (2nd G-MAC in A/S); #16 Erin Krupar, Sr., OH, East Sparta, OH/Canton Central (3rd G-MAC in K/S, 3rd in P/S); #17 Anna Krikke, Sr., MB, North Royalton, OH/North Royalton (6th G-MAC in B/S, 7th in hitting %)
Scouting the Opposition
Tiffin: The Dragons have had an up-and-down season to date as Tiffin tries to overcome the graduation of an All-G-MAC setter and libero from last season with new faces in both crucial roles.
Tiffin has been competitive – they're one of just two teams to hand undefeated Ashland a set loss in conference play – but that competitiveness hasn't translated into a signature win for the program just yet.
The Dragons will hope an inexperienced but talented attack – led by sophomores Wakaya Wilison and Taylor Peterson, both of whom are playing much bigger roles in their second seasons, will continue to grow as the year wears on.
Tiffin has been roughly league average in most statistics so far, but the defense, led by new libero Diana Heitkamp, has been a bright spot as the Dragons are currently fourth in the G-MAC in digs per set.
Ashland: A year after winning the G-MAC South Division Championships and finishing runner-up to the Chargers in the G-MAC Tournament, Ashland is rampaging through the conference with a perfect 9-0 record to date.
Experience is the biggest key to the Eagles' success, as five of Ashland's six All-G-MAC players return this season, led by defending G-MAC Player of the Year and 2021 All-American Erin Krupar. All-G-MAC level attackers GraceAnn Hartman and Sage Kissman also return, but the main story for Ashland has been the emergence of sophomore outside hitter Makenna Belcher, who got limited playing time last year but has blossomed into one of the top offensive threads in the G-MAC so far this season.
Ashland also is blessed with one of the conference's top setters in senior Zoey Peck, and one of the league's top liberos in Katie Thompson.
This is a huge weekend for Ashland – with matches against fellow contenders Findlay and Hillsdale at home, the Eagles have a chance to not only all but lock up the G-MAC South Division title, but the top seed and hosting rights for the season-ending G-MAC Tournament with a sweep.
Scouting the Chargers
Fresh off one of the best seasons in program history, including the program's second-ever NCAA DII Midwest Regional championship and Elite Eight appearance, Hillsdale looks to keep a run of recent success going in 2022.
The Chargers will have to overcome significant graduation losses to do so, as Hillsdale bid farewell last spring to a talented five-player senior class that included two All-Americans, two more All-G-MAC players and a player who finished in the top 10 all time in career digs at Hillsdale.
Despite the losses, however, Hillsdale is still well-stocked with talent, as well as meaningful experience at multiple positions. A third 2021 All-American, senior outside hitter Karoline Shelton, returns for the final season of a stellar five-year career, and is joined by two-time All-G-MAC libero Alli Wiese, who set the Hillsdale single-season record for digs last year, as well as two-time All-G-MAC middle hitter Maizie Brown.
The Chargers have plenty of options in the front row, led by sophomore outside hitter Marilyn Popplewell, who was the breakout star of Hillsdale's NCAA Tournament run as a freshman after barely playing in the first half of the season, as well as senior middle hitter Megan Kolp, who's played an important role on multiple Charger squads.
In the back row, Hillsdale can call on rock-solid veteran Audrey Riley, who's been part of the rotation since arriving as a freshman, and athletic sophomore Amy Buffini, who impressed with her defensive skills in limited playing time last year and who brings added flexibility to the lineup with her ability to play in the front row as well.
The biggest question mark for Hillsdale is at setter, where the Chargers will have to replace five-year starter Lindsey Mertz, the program's assists record-holder. Luckily, Hillsdale has a promising new starter in sophomore Lauren Passaglia who beat out several other quality options for the spot and has been solid so far.
Coaching the Chargers for the 27th year is Chris Gravel, who's built Hillsdale's program from the ground up and into one of the top programs in the Midwest Region. Under Gravel, the Chargers have won nine conference regular season titles, eight conference tournament titles, made 13 NCAA Division II tournament appearances, won the Midwest Regional title in 2011 and 2021, and reached the NCAA DII Final Four in 2011 while making the Elite Eight round in 2021.
Other Notes
- Hillsdale's school-record setting streak of appearances in the AVCA DII Top 25 poll ended this week at 47 straight weeks, a run that dated back to the 2019 season and surpassed the old record set from 2005 to 2007. While the Chargers did not make the poll, Hillsdale received the most votes of any team that outside the top 25, a sign that Hillsdale could climb back in with strong results over the next two weeks.
- The Chargers also saw a 92-match G-MAC winning streak (78 straight regular season games and 14 straight G-MAC Tournament wins) snapped last week in a five-set loss at Cedarville, the longest such winning streak in G-MAC history. While that streak is over, Hillsdale can still look to extend its streak of conference tournament victories and its stretch of five consecutive G-MAC regular season and tournament crowns with a strong finish.
- Hillsdale has dominated the all-time series with Tiffin, holding a 23-1 record against the Dragons since the series started in 2001, with the only loss to Tiffin coming in 2016. The Chargers swept the most recent match on Oct. 23, 2021. Ashland, meanwhile, is one of Hillsdale's oldest rivals in-conference along with Findlay and Northwood, with matches dating back to 1989. The Chargers lead the series 36-19 and have won four straight, including a 3-1 sweep of the Eagles in the G-MAC Tournament Championship game last November.
- Senior outside hitter Karoline Shelton is building a resume as one of the most accomplished all-around players in program history. The 2021 All-American is one of just two players in program history, along with Cassandra Cole (1996-99), to surpass both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs for her career. At 1,284 kills and 1,418 digs through this past weekend, an injury-free campaign should see Shelton move into the top five all-time at Hillsdale in both stats.
- Sophomore libero Alli Wiese reached an important career milestone early, becoming the 12th Charger to surpass 1,000 digs on opening weekend. She now sits at 1,299 digs for her career, and leads the G-MAC and is 13th nationally in NCAA Division II play at 5.37 digs per set. Wiese, who set a program record for single-season digs with 624 last fall and is averaging 5.39 digs per set for her career, has a great shot at chasing down the program's career digs record of 2,251 held by her older sister, Taylor, if she can stay healthy the next three seasons.
- The Chargers are elite defensively once again this year as Hillsdale leads the entire country at the DII level as well as the G-MAC in digs per set at 19.15. Wiese, mentioned above, plays a leading role, but Hillsdale is also getting important contributions from defensive specialists Amy Buffini (2.55 D/S) and Audrey Riley (2.17), as well as impressive support from outside hitter Karoline Shelton (3.23) and setter Lauren Passaglia (2.70).
- Hillsdale currently leads the G-MAC in blocks per set with 2.52 in 2022, and is eighth nationally in the statistic – a testament to the Chargers' strength up front. Leading the way is sophomore Maizie Brown, who has 70 total blocks this season, and whose 1.25 blocks per set is 16th in the entire nation at the NCAA DII level. Senior teammate Linnea Larson would be even higher – tied for 13th at 1.26 blocks per set but has not accumulated a high enough percentage of sets played yet – something that could change soon if her strong play continues.
- Lauren Passaglia had a career-best contest in a win over Northwood on Tuesday night, dishing out 59 assists – just two off the Charger record for a four-set match set by All-American Lindsey Mertz in 2018. Passaglia is now up to third in the G-MAC in assists per set at 9.52 and has been climbing steadily throughout 2022 as she gains experience.
- Family ties play an interesting role for the Hillsdale College volleyball team this year, with several players following in the footsteps of family members who played Charger athletics. Three of Hillsdale's five incoming freshmen have older siblings who are or were Chargers – libero Chloe Pierce's older sister, Sophia, just wrapped up her career as a women's basketball player at Hillsdale, front row player Adi Sysum is the younger sister of women's basketball player Arianna Sysum, and setter Josie TeSlaa is the younger sister of Charger football player Isaac TeSlaa. They join Alli Wiese, whose older sister, Taylor, also was a libero for the Chargers and is currently on the coaching staff.
- Familiar faces are all over head coach Chris Gravel's coaching staff. As mentioned above, assistant Taylor Wiese was an All-American libero for the Chargers from 2016-19. She's joined this year as an assistant by Allyssa Van Wienen, who just wrapped up her Charger career last fall and finished as a two-time All-American.