In a match with big stakes, the Hillsdale College volleyball team put together one its best hitting performances of the season to keep advancing in G-MAC Tournament play on Friday in Ashland, Ohio.
Hillsdale hit a scorching .336 and finished with 64 kills, pushing past a determined Walsh team, 25-13, 25-18, 19-25, 26-24, and into the G-MAC Tourney Final for the sixth consecutive season.
The Chargers came out on fire in a dominant first set, finishing with 17 kills to just one attack error and leading nearly wire to wire, then racked up another 17 kills in set two to take a 2-0 lead over the Cavaliers.
Facing elimination and the end of its season, Walsh came out with its best effort in set three, hitting .483 itself with 17 kills to stay alive.
The Cavaliers' push continued in a tight set four, as Walsh looked to force a deciding fifth set. But with the Cavaliers surging, Hillsdale buckled down and matched them blow for blow, breaking a 24-24 tie with back to back kills by sophomore Marilyn Popplewell and Emory Braswell to seal the Chargers' victory and book a spot in Saturday's final.
Senior Karoline Shelton continued a string of recent strong performances with anoth great outing at the net on Friday, finishing with a team-high 17 kills on a .295 hitting percentage. Popplewell chipped in 14 kills on a .379 hitting percentage and chipped in three blocks as well, senior Megan Kolp added eight kills and Braswell chipped in six, all in the fourth and clinching set.
Defensively, sophomore libero Alli Wiese led the Chargers with 16 digs, and senior Audrey Riley chipped in 10. Sophomore middle hitter Maizie Brown was Hillsdale's top defensive player at the net with five block assists, along with five kills.
Sophomore setter Lauren Passaglia filled up the stat sheet in one of her stronger games, recording 48 assists along with six kills and 10 digs for the Chargers.
Hillsdale (26-6) now looks for its sixth-straight G-MAC Tournament crown on Saturday at 5 p.m. The second-seeded Chargers will face fifth-seeded Trevecca Nazarene, who advanced with a four-set victory over eighth-seeded Tiffin and out of an upset-filled top half of the bracket to reach the final.
The Chargers have never lost to Trevecca Nazarene, sporting a perfect 9-0 record against the Trojans that includes a sweep earlier this season in September. But Trevecca is on a roll, with two impressive victories so far in the G-MAC Tournament, and will be playing with desperation, as the Trojans' only path to the NCAA DII Tournament and extending their season is by beating the Chargers and claiming the automatic bid granted by winning the G-MAC Tournament title.
Photo by Patrick McGuire, Ashland Athletics