Chargers picked to repeat as G-MAC North Division champions in 2023 preseason coaches poll

For six straight years since joining the league in 2017, the Hillsdale College volleyball team has brought home hardware in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.

If the 2023 G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll is any indication, the Chargers have a great chance to make it seven in a row this fall.

The Chargers were picked to win the North Division with 10 of 14 first-place votes, and their 89 total votes were the most across any team from both the North and South Division in the conference. 2022 North Division runner-up Findlay was picked to finish second behind Hillsdale and received four first-place votes, while 2022 regular season champion Ashland was picked to repeat in the South Division with eight first place votes. Cedarville was picked to finish second in the South Division with three first place votes, and Trevecca Nazarene was predicted to finish third in the South while also garnering three first place votes.

In every single G-MAC volleyball season that Hillsdale has participated in, the Chargers have won a division title and the season-ending G-MAC Tournament title, and in five of those six years, Hillsdale also has captured the overall regular season title and top seed in the Tournament. The Chargers will be looking to continue their division and tournament title streaks in 2023 while taking back the regular season title from Ashland, who edged out Hillsdale by a single match in 2022.

Five All-G-MAC players return for Hillsdale in 2023, led by junior libero Alli Wiese, who earned AVCA honorable mention All-American honors in 2022 while also setting single-season and single-match program records for digs.

The Chargers also return a bevy of attacking talent up front, including multi-time G-MAC honorees Maizie Brown and Megan Kolp in the middle, and junior Marilyn Popplewell, a first-team All-G-MAC honoree in 2022 who set a new program record for kills in a single match in Hillsdale's NCAA Tournament upset of second-seeded Lewis last November.

Directing the attack is junior setter Lauren Passaglia, who earned All-G-MAC honors in her first full season as a starter and could make a big leap in 2023 with a season's worth of action under her belt.

The Chargers do have a big hole to fill with the graduation of two-time All-American Karoline Shelton, who was an all-around force for Hillsdale, but a deep bench means the Chargers have the luxury of replacing her production with multiple players. Up front, sophomores Emory Braswell and Adi Sysum are among several attackers who could shine in bigger roles, while in the back row, returning defensive specialists Audrey Riley and Amanda Hilliker, as well as redshirt freshman Chloe Pierce, all look ready to handle a larger workload.

Hillsdale opens the 2023 season this weekend in Marquette, Michigan at the UP Open, beginning with an 11:30 a.m. match on Friday against host Northern Michigan. The Chargers' home and conference opener is 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15 against Ursuline, one of five home matches in a span of eight days. You can find a full schedule here, and tickets for home matches for the 2023 season are here. You can watch all Hillsdale College conference matches at https://greatmidwestdigitalnetwork.com/hillsdale/.

2023 G-MAC Volleyball Preseason Coaches Poll

NORTH DIVISION