Schedule
Hillsdale (13-3, 7-1 G-MAC) at Northwood (12-5, 7-2 G-MAC) | 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6 | Riepma Arena| Midland, MI
Follow/Watch
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Northwood Roster | 2023 Hillsdale Stats | 2023 Northwood Stats | G-MAC Standings
Players to Watch
Hillsdale: #1 Audrey Riley, Sr., DS, Stillwater, OK/Stillwater (5th G-MAC in SA/S); #4 Alli Wiese, Jr., L/DS, Mattawan, MI/Mattawan (1st G-MAC in D/S, 3rd in SA/S); #8 Maizie Brown, Jr., MH, Portage, MI/Central (2nd G-MAC in hitting %, 4th in B/S); #11 Lauren Passaglia, Jr., S, Cary, IL/Cary Grove (4th G-MAC in A/S); #13 Marilyn Popplewell, So., OH, Mason, OH/Mason (7th G-MAC in K/S, 8th in Hitting %)
Northwood: #7 Renee Brines, So., S, Cadillac, MI/Cadillac (2nd G-MAC in A/S); #9 Sydney Sweet, Sr., MB/RS, Clio, MI/Clio (10th G-MAC in hitting %); #16 Megan Acs, Sr., L/DS, Oscoda, MI/Oscoda (6th G-MAC in D/S); #18 Sydney Hasenfratz, So., MB/OH, Clarkston, MI/Clarkston (1st G-MAC in hitting %, 1st in K/S, 7th in B/S)
Scouting the Opposition
Northwood: At 12-5 overall, the Timberwolves have established themselves as a legitimate contender in the G-MAC North Division, but with two conference losses and several tough matches remaining, Northwood has to get a win at home on Friday to feel good about their place in the race.
The Timberwolves have a dream pairing up front in 2022 All-G-MAC setter Renee Brines and 2022 G-MAC Freshman of the Year middle blocker Sydney Hasenfratz. Now in their second seasons, the duo remains one of the top offensive combinations in G-MAC play.
Brines has several other solid options up front, with Olivia Ott, Caitlin Warnshuis and Kiana Martens all providing firepower on the outside.
In the back row, seniors Megan Acs and MacKelle Thompson provide experience and stability defensively for Northwood.
The Timberwolves are coached by David Shumaker, now in his eighth season at the helm. Shumaker came to Northwood in 2015 with extensive head coaching experience after successful runs at Bryan College (TN) and Summit University (PA).
Scouting the Chargers
Hillsdale is off to a strong start at 13-3 overall and 7-1 in G-MAC play, but must rebound quickly after a tough loss at Walsh on Sunday that leaves the Chargers a game back of the Cavaliers in the standings. Hillsdale will get another shot at Walsh at home on Nov. 4, but must keep winning to keep pace with the Cavaliers until then.
The Chargers return a deep and talented roster full of meaningful postseason experience in 2023 as it looks to reclaim the G-MAC regular season title, defend its G-MAC Tournament title, and earn what would be its sixth straight NCAA DII Midwest Regional appearance, and seventh in eight seasons.
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.
Coaching the Chargers for the 28th 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, nine conference tournament titles, made 14 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 received votes in the AVCA DII Top 25 Poll for the fourth straight weekend after an 11-2 start. The Chargers are one of seven Midwest Region teams to be ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll, and one of two G-MAC squads. The Chargers also were the top vote-getter in the 2023 G-MAC Preseason Coaches poll, and named the favorite to win the North Division.
- The Chargers enter the 2023 season looking to extend their dominance of the G-MAC for another campaign. Hillsdale has won five of the last six regular season titles and six G-MAC tournament titles in a row since joining the conference in 2017, and are 94-5 all-time in G-MAC regular season matches, as well as a perfect 17-0 in G-MAC Tournament matches.
- Already an All-American and a record-setting player for the Chargers, junior libero Alli Wiese is on the cusp of rewriting Hillsdale's record books at her position. Wiese is the program's single-season record-holder in digs (721 in 2022) and tied for the single match record (40 against Walsh on Nov. 4, 2022). She is in third place in program history with 1,936 digs, and needs 316 digs to surpass her older sister, Taylor's, program career record of 2,251. With 157 service aces at Hillsdale, Wiese also has a shot at breaking the Chargers' career record of 219 set by Katie Keane from 1994-97 as well before her career is done.
- Serving in general has been a key part of Hillsdale's success in 2023, as the Chargers have an impressive 135 service aces already this season, and set a program record for the 25-point rally scoring era with 18 aces in a sweep of Lake Erie last weekend. The Chargers have five players with double-digit service aces 16 matches into the season, including Wiese, who's on pace to break the single-season record with 30 service aces so far, and senior Audrey Riley, whose 24 is on pace to get in the top 10 for a single season. The Chargers' 2.29 service aces per set leads the G-MAC and ranks 14th nationally at the NCAA DII level.
- Marilyn Popplewell already held one single-match record for the Chargers in her career after totaling 28 kills in Hillsdale's five set victory over second-seeded Lewis in last season's NCAA DII Tournament. She added a second record on Sept. 8, serving up eight aces in a four-set win over Wayne State at the Findlay Classic to surpass the previous record of six. A first-team All-G-MAC player in 2022, Popplewell has been even better so far in 2023, leading the Chargers in kills and earning back-to-back All-Tournament team honors at Hillsdale's two season-opening tournaments.
- Setter Lauren Passaglia had a strong season in 2022 in her first time in the starting role, finishing with 1,175 assists, the fifth most by a Charger in a single season in the history of the rally-score, side out era. Her 1,731 career assists already rank 9th all-time in program history and she has a shot to move up the list considerably over the next season. Passaglia is off to a hot start, earning All-Tournament team honors for her performances at both the UP Open and the Findlay Classic to start the season.
- Junior Maizie Brown is having her best season to date, leading the G-MAC with 23 solo blocks at the net while also putting up career highs in both kills per set (1.72) and hitting percentage (.369). The three-time All-G-MAC honoree is a force at the net. Last season, in 2022, Brown put up 130 blocks, the sixth-most by a Charger in the 25-point, rally-scoring era, and her 106 block assists were seventh most in a season. Entering this weekend, she has 308 blocks for her career, eighth most all-time at Hillsdale.
- Seniors Audrey Riley and Megan Kolp originally planned to graduate after the 2022 season, but both decided in the spring to use the extra year of eligibility they received from the Covid-19 pandemic to return for a fifth season. Both players are multi-year contributors for the Chargers and will be an important part of Hillsdale's squad in 2023.
- 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. Five Hillsdale players have older siblings who are or were Chargers – libero Chloe Pierce's older sister, Sophia, is a former Hillsdale women's basketball player, front row player Adi Sysum is the younger sister of former women's basketball player Arianna Sysum, and setter Josie TeSlaa is the younger sister of former Charger football player Isaac TeSlaa. Wiese is following in the footsteps of her older sister, Taylor, who was Hillsdale's starting libero for four years from 2016-2019. There's also a pair of siblings who are both currently on the roster for the Chargers, as freshman Greta Wise joins her older sister, Jaclyn Wise, on the squad as well.
- Already the winningest coach in Hillsdale College history across all sports, Chris Gravel is fast approaching another historic wins milestone. The 28-year head coaching veteran is just five wins away from reaching 600 wins for his career, and could reach the milestone by as early as October 20. Just 10 active coaches at the NCAA DII level have over 600 wins, meaning Gravel would be entering a very exclusive club by reaching the milestone.
- Hillsdale has a long history of playing against Northwood, with the Timberwolves holding a 42-21 advantage mostly accumulated in the two decades before Gravel took over at Hillsdale. Since 1998, Gravel's third season, Hillsdale leads the series 18-14, and is on a string of nine straight victories against Northwood.