Schedule
Hillsdale (14-3, 8-1 G-MAC) vs Maryville (12-5, 4-2 GLVC) | 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 13 | Hammond Sportsplex | Hammond, IN
Hillsdale (14-3, 8-1 G-MAC) vs Michigan Tech (7-10, 5-4 GLIAC) | 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 13 | Hammond Sportsplex | Hammond, IN
Hillsdale (14-3, 8-1 G-MAC) vs TBA | TBA Saturday, Oct. 14 | Hammond Sportsplex | Hammond, IN
Follow/Watch
Live Stats & Video | Crossover Central
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Maryville Roster | Michigan Tech Roster | 2023 Hillsdale Stats | 2023 Maryville Stats | 2023 Michigan Tech Stats | G-MAC Standings
Players to Watch
Hillsdale: #1 Audrey Riley, Sr., DS, Stillwater, OK/Stillwater (6th 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 %)
Maryville: #1 Taylor Hasbrook, Sr., DS/L, Eureka, MO/Northwest (1st GLVC in D/S), #11 Hanna Dressing, Jr., MB, Fenton, MO/St. Joseph's Academy (9th GLVC in B/S, 10th in hitting %); #12 Ella Brinkmann, So., OH, Washington, MO/St. Francis Borgia (1st Team in K/S, 10th GLVC in SA/S); #20 Abbie Schnell, Sr., S, St. Charles, MO/Incarnate Word (1st Team in A/S)
Michigan Tech: #7 Kaycee Meiners, Jr., MB, DeForest, WI/DeForest (1st GLIAC in B/S); #10 Tess Hayes, S, Fr., Chicago, IL/Mother McCauley (4th GLIAC in A/S); #17 Rachel Zurek, Fr., MB, Highland, MI/Lakeland (7th GLIAC in B/S); #18 Lindy Oujiri, Sr., OH, Osseo, MN/Osseo Senior (4th GLIAC in K/S)
Scouting the Opposition
With conference play half over, it's time for the annual Midwest Regional Crossover, now in its 15th season. Hillsdale will travel to the Hammond Sportsplex in Hammond, Indiana on Friday to play two matches against GLVC and GLIAC foes, with a third match against a to-be-determined opponent scheduled for Saturday at either 12:30 or 3 PM.
Maryville: The Saints enter the Crossover at 12-5 overall and in a three-way tie for fourth in the GLVC, at 4-2 in conference play. Maryville has historically been an also-ran in the rugged GLVC, but under sixth-year head coach Gretchen Moser the Saints have steadily improved and are on track to contend for their first 20-plus win season since 1998, and potentially a first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
Maryville is a gritty team with one of the GLVC's best defenses, led by veteran libero Taylor Hasbrook, who is ninth in the country and tops in the Midwest region with 5.47 digs per set entering this weekend, as well as a solid middle blocker in Hanna Dressing. Sophomore outside hitter Ella Brinkmann leads an opportunistic offense for the Saints, who have quality losses to the top three teams in the GLVC and a win over the NAIA's seventh-ranked team, Missouri Baptist.
Moser came to the Saints after a long run as a very successful coach and program director on the club circuit for Rockwood Thunder Volleyball Club, one of the top high school organizations in the Midwest. She played for Missouri Baptist in college and also served as an assistant at East Central College earlier in her career.
Michigan Tech: Usually a strong contender to make the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Region, the Huskies enter this year's crossover at just 7-10 overall, but that record comes against a brutal schedule that includes losses against five nationally ranked teams.
Michigan Tech has a strong team at the net, leading the GLIAC in total blocks with 140 so far, led by standout middle blockers Kaycee Meiners and Rachel Zurek. Lindy Oujiri leads a balanced offensive attack for the Huskies, with Meiners and Zurek also playing important roles on the attack. Injuries have held Michigan Tech back so far, with several key players missing time, and getting healthy for the stretch run will be key for the Huskies.
Hillsdale took on Michigan Tech earlier this season at the UP Open hosted by Northern Michigan, with the Chargers taking a hard-fought five set victory, meaning both squads are very familiar with each other entering this weekend's match-up.
The Huskies are coached by Matt Jennings, who has a 198-139 record in 12 seasons at Michigan Tech, including four NCAA Tournament Appearances. Jennings came to Michigan Tech after multiple stints as both a head an assistant coach, with his most recent stint prior to the Huskies a three-year role as an assistant at the University of Pittsburgh.
Scouting the Chargers
Hillsdale is off to a strong start at 14-3 overall and 8-1 in G-MAC play. Currently in second place in the G-MAC North Division standings, the Chargers got a big victory on Friday at Northwood to remain within a game of undefeated Walsh for first place in the G-MAC entering the crossover this weekend. Now, Hillsdale will get an opportunity to bolster its NCAA Tournament resume with a strong showing against opposing conference teams.
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 fifth straight weekend after a 13-3 start. The Chargers are one of seven Midwest Region teams to be ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA 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.
- This is the 15th Midwest Region Crossover, and Hillsdale has played in every edition, dating back to 2008, with a 27-14 overall record in the event. The Chargers, usually one of the top seeds in the event, finished 1-2 last year, and have gone undefeated five times – in 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2017. Ten different Hillsdale players have earned All-Crossover Team honors over the years, including 2022 graduate Lindsey Mertz three times (2017, 2018 and 2021), and 2012 graduate Clara Leutheuser twice (2010 and 2011). Junior Maizie Brown is a returning honoree, having made the All-Crossover team in 2021.
- The format to the Crossover is the same for the second straight season -- teams will be scheduled two matches against equivalent seeds from other conferences for the first day, and then will be paired up for the final match based on the results of their first two matches – 2-0 teams will play other 2-0 teams, 1-1 teams will play 1-1 teams, and so on. Regardless of who the Chargers play, the final match will take place at either 12:30 or 3 PM ET on Saturday.
- All games from this year's Crossover will be streamed on JedTV. You can find a link to the livestream for the event above. The broadcast is pay-per-view and will cost $15 per match or $35 for an All-Access pass for all matches. Tickets will be purchasable at the door for the following prices: $12 adult single session; $5 seniors 65-over; $20 two-day pass. Kids 12 and under will be admitted free of charge.
- 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 1,956 digs, and needs 296 digs to surpass her older sister, Taylor's, program career record of 2,251. With 159 service aces at Hillsdale, Wiese also ranks fourth all time in that stat and 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 138 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 two weekends ago. The Chargers have five players with double-digit service aces 17 matches into the season, including Wiese, who's on pace to break the single-season record with 32 service aces so far, and senior Audrey Riley, whose 25 is on pace to get in the top 10 for a single season. The Chargers' 2.23 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 1,782 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, currently sitting in second in the G-MAC with 23 solo blocks at the net while also putting up career highs in both kills per set (1.82) and hitting percentage (.386). 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 four 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.
- This weekend is Hillsdale's first-ever meeting with Maryville, who reclassified to NCAA DII from the NCAA DIII ranks in 2009-10. On the other hand, Hillsdale has a long and competitive competitive series with Michigan Tech dating back to the start of both programs in the 70s, with Hillsdale currently on a two-match winning streak against the Huskies that includes back-to-back five-set victories.