On paper, the second-seeded Hillsdale College volleyball team got an unfavorable draw in seventh-seeded Northwood to open the 2022 G-MAC Tournament with a quarterfinal matchup on Thursday.
In two previous meetings, the Timberwolves had given Hillsdale two tough fights and put up big offensive numbers in close losses, including a five-set match at Northwood in mid-October.
With the season potentially on the line for both teams, however, the Chargers had very few problems in putting the Timberwolves away in three sets on Thursday, 25-22, 25-19, 25-14, to win its 15th straight G-MAC Tournament match and advance to the semifinal round on Friday.
Northwood came out determined to keep its season going, jumping out to big early leads in both of the first two sets. In both cases, however, the Chargers decisively seized control in the back half of the set to pull away for victory.
The Timberwolves held a 20-15 lead in set one before the Chargers reeled off eight straight points to turn that deficit into a 23-20 lead. Setter Lauren Passaglia was key to the run from the service line, serving up two aces, and Karoline Shelton added two kills and two block assists to contribute four points as well as Hillsdale used that big rally to turn what seemed like a sure set loss into a 1-0 advantage.
In set two, Hillsdale once again fell behind big early, trailing 7-1 just eight points into the match after three Northwood service aces. Just like in the first set, however, once Hillsdale got in gear, there was nothing the Timberwolves could do to get the Chargers off-track. Hillsdale rallied back to a 15-13 deficit, then scored nine of the next 10 points thanks to two kills and two blocks by sophomore middle hitter Maizie Brown to pull away for a comfortable victory.
The third set was all Hillsdale, as the Chargers jumped out to a 9-3 lead and never let Northwood closer than a four-point deficit the rest of the way to finish the match.
Hillsdale's dominance at the net was key to the victory, and also proof of Hillsdale's capacity to adjust to opponents in the third meeting between the two teams. After giving up 22 kills to Northwood's Kiana Martens in a four-set win at home in September, and 34 kills to the Timberwolves' Sydney Hasenfratz in a five-set match at Northwood, Hillsdale held the Timberwolves' dynamic attacking duo to just 13 total kills in the match against eight attack errors and two sub .150 hitting percentages.
Along with defanging a dangerous Northwood offense, Hillsdale also played an impressive match of their own when on the attack, hitting .304 for the contest with 41 kills to Northwood's 31. Shelton led the way for the Chargers with a 12 kill, 13 dig double-double, and sophomore Marilyn Popplewell added 11 kills as well for the Chargers. Brown had a huge match out of the middle for Hillsdale, contributing 10 kills on a .600 hitting percentage and leading the Charger defense at the net with five total blocks, including two solo blocks.
Defensively, Alli Wiese contributed eight digs and also added two service aces for the Chargers in a low-action day for Hillsdale's back-row thanks to the Chargers' strength at the net. Passaglia finished with 31 assists while quarterbacking the Chargers' offense, and also chipped in five digs as well.
Hillsdale improves to 25-6 overall and is now two wins away from a sixth-straight G-MAC Tournament title. The Chargers will have a tough semifinal matchup on Friday at 5 PM up next, against the winner of third-seeded Findlay and sixth-seeded Walsh. While Hillsdale beat both teams twice in the regular season, both the Oilers and Cavaliers are dangerous offensive squads, meaning the Chargers will have to continue to play at a high level to keep advancing.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan