Alli Wiese came to Hillsdale with big shoes to fill in the form of her older sister, Taylor, an All-American libero for the Chargers from 2016 to 2019.
It's only fitting that as the sophomore has matured into one of the best liberos in the country in her own right, that she's taking her place alongside her sister in the Charger record-books.
The younger Wiese had a career night on Friday to match her sister, leading the Chargers past a tough Walsh squad in a 28-30, 25-16, 25-22, 25-22 victory by tying the program's single-match record of 40 digs set by Taylor in 2019.
The victory also locks up the outright G-MAC North Division title for Hillsdale, its sixth straight season of winning at least a Division title during its time in the G-MAC.
To pull off the victory, the Chargers had to overcome an uncharacteristically shaky hitting performance. Despite committing a season-high 13 attack errors, the Chargers nearly pulled out the first set -- leading 24-21 late despite hitting just 0.034 for the set. But the Chargers couldn't capitalize on five set points as Walsh snuck in and took the set late to take an early lead in the match.
The Chargers came back emphatically in Set two with a 25-16 victory, recording 6.5 blocks and seizing control at the net to tie up the match.
Both sets 3 and 4 were tight as the two teams looked to strike a critical blow. Hillsdale trailed 22-21 in set 3 but scored four straight points, including two service aces by sophomore Amanda Hilliker, to pull out a 25-22 victory. It was a similar story in set 4, as Hillsdale broke a 20-20 tie by scoring five of the final seven points, thanks to three kills from senior Karoline Shelton, to clinch the match.
Shelton led a balanced Hillsdale offense with 17 kills, eight digs and three total blocks, while sophomore Marilyn Popplewell was close behind with 16 kills and four block assists.
Sophomore middle hitter Maizie Brown also came through for the Chargers with one of her best nights of the season, tying her season high with 12 kills and adding seven total blocks. Linnea Larson chipped in five block assists and Lauren Passaglia added five total blocks as well as Hillsdale recorded 14.5 blocks in the match, a big part of the Chargers' ultimate victory.
Passaglia also chipped in 44 assists and four digs for Hillsdale as the lead setter for the Chargers, while Hilliker added eight digs and tied her career high with five service aces as well.
The Chargers improve to 23-6 on the season, 15-2 in G-MAC play with the victory, and wrap up the regular season tomorrow, Saturday, with a match at home against Malone at 5 PM. Along with the match, Hillsdale also will honor its six graduating seniors -- Audrey Riley, Megan Kolp, Madeline Zenas, Shelton, Larson and Emily Susitko.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan