The Hillsdale College volleyball team has a huge set of matches this weekend against arch-rival Findlay, as the two teams that are currently tied for the lead in the G-MAC North Division play each other twice in under 24 hours in decisive matches for the Division title.
The Chargers host Findlay at home at 7 PM on Friday, then travel to Findlay to play again at 4 PM on Saturday.
On top of the stakes for Friday's match, the Chargers also have several promotions set for that night for fans to take advantage of. The first 500 attendees will receive a free Charger Rally Towel to help cheer on Hillsdale during the match. It's also the Charger volleyball team's Toys for Tots Night -- bring a toy to donate to Toys for Tots to help area kids in need, and receive a free ticket to the match for every toy you bring.
Schedule
Findlay (16-11, 11-2 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (20-6, 12-2 G-MAC) | 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena| Hillsdale, MI
Hillsdale (20-6, 12-2 G-MAC) at Findlay (16-11, 12-2 G-MAC) | 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena| Hillsdale, MI
Follow/Watch
Live Stats and Live Stream | Tickets (Home) | Tickets (Away)
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Findlay Roster | 2022 Hillsdale Stats | 2022 Findlay Stats
Players to Watch
Hillsdale: #7 Karoline Shelton, Sr., OH, Shawnee, KS/Mission South (6th G-MAC in K/S, 6th in P/S, 11th in D/S) #4 Alli Wiese, So., L/DS, Mattawan, MI/Mattawan (1st G-MAC in D/S, 3rd in SA/S); #8 Maizie Brown, So., MH, Portage, MI/Central (1st G-MAC in B/S); #13 Marilyn Popplewell, So., OH, Mason, OH/Mason (8th G-MAC in K/S, 9th in P/S); #11 Lauren Passaglia, So., S, Cary, IL/Cary Grove (5th G-MAC in A/S)
Findlay: #2 Ava Doster, So., DS, New Haven, IN/New Haven (5th G-MAC in D/S); #9 Emma White, Fr., S, Tiffin, OH/Calvert (1st G-MAC in A/S); #10 Journey Blevins, So., OH, Richwood, OH/North Union (1st G-MAC in K/S); #15 Emma Meyer, Sr., MH, Anna, OH/Anna (4th G-MAC in B/S)
Scouting the Opposition
Findlay: Hillsdale's main competition for the G-MAC North Division title, the Oilers are tied with the Chargers in the standings with four matches remaining for each, and in all likelihood the division race will be decided by the outcome of the two matches between the teams this weekend.
Findlay relies heavily offensively on sophomore All-American Journey Blevins, whose 4.54 kills per set not only leads the G-MAC but is in the top 10 nationally at the NCAA DII level. When Blevins is not being set, the Oilers lean on DI grad transfer Norah Painter and freshman middle hitter Alana Pohlman.
Defensively, the Oilers have a solid libero in sophomore Ava Doster, but Findlay's team is slanted much more to the offensive end of the spectrum – they're in the top four in the G-MAC in nearly every offensive category, but are 10th in opponent hitting percentage and in team digs, and fifth in total blocks.
Freshman setter Emma White has helped bring the Oilers offense to another level, as she's currently leading the conference in assists per set.
Friday and Saturday's matches present an interesting contrast, as one of the best offensive teams in the G-MAC in Findlay takes on a defensively-sound Hillsdale team that not only leads the G-MAC in digs per set but is eighth nationally in the statistic.
Scouting the Chargers
Hillsdale is unlikely to catch undefeated Ashland for the top seed and hosting rights in the season-ending G-MAC tournament, but a North Division title is still very much in play for the Chargers with four conference matches left in the season.
In 2022, the Chargers have had to overcome significant graduation losses from its 2021 NCAA DII Elite Eight squad, 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 enters the weekend in a dead-heat with Findlay in the G-MAC North Division title race, with both teams tied at 12-2 in G-MAC play with four matches to go. If either team sweeps both matches this weekend, they will clinch at least a share of the North Division title and the second seed in the G-MAC Tournament behind presumptive South Division champion Ashland. If the two teams split, Hillsdale would have the tiebreaker edge for the second seed as long as it won its final two matches next weekend.
- Hillsdale leads the all-time series with Findlay 31-18, with a 9-2 mark against the Oilers since both teams moved to the G-MAC in 2017, and a seven-match winning streak entering Friday. The Oilers are one of Hillsdale's oldest continuous foes, as the two teams have played every year since 1997.
- Sophomore libero Alli Wiese was named the G-MAC North Division Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this season after helping the Chargers go 3-0 last week. The sophomore has 1,460 digs for her career, good for seventh all-time at Hillsdale, and is on pace to break Hillsdale's career digs record of 2,251 held by her older sister, Taylor. In the past four matches, however, she's proved to be a lethal weapon from the service line, with 17 aces in that span. Wiese, who leads the G-MAC in digs per set and is third in service aces per set, needs just 99 digs to break her own single-season record for digs of 624 set last season, and 11 aces to break Apryl Schmucker's single-season ace record of 57 set in 2011, over the final three weeks of the season.
- 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 1,377 kills and 1,517 digs through this past weekend, Shelton is now in the top five all-time at Hillsdale in both stats, and could move as high as third in kills before her career ends.
- The Chargers are elite defensively once again this year as Hillsdale leads the G-MAC and is eighth in the nation at the NCAA DII level in digs per set at 18.47. Wiese, mentioned above, plays a leading role with 5.31 digs per set, but Hillsdale is also getting important contributions from defensive specialists Amy Buffini (2.29 D/S) and Audrey Riley (2.10), as well as impressive support from outside hitter Karoline Shelton (3.44) and setter Lauren Passaglia (2.46).
- Hillsdale currently leads the G-MAC in blocks per set with 2.25 in 2022 – a testament to the Chargers' strength up front. Leading the way is sophomore Maizie Brown, who has 92 total blocks this season, and whose 1.10 blocks per set leads the G-MAC. Sydney Sahr (0.78) and Megan Kolp (0.79) also rate highly among G-MAC players.
- 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.