No matter which lineup the 18th-ranked Hillsdale College volleyball team put on the floor in Friday's road match against Malone, it felt like the Chargers had what it needed to succeed.
All three of the team's setters and nearly every player on the roster saw the floor in Hillsdale's 25-22, 25-19, 25-22 sweep of the Pioneers, with 14 different players contributing at least one kill.
While all three sets ended up relatively close, the Chargers rarely trailed in any of the three, building big early leads with strong service runs from back-row players Alli Wiese, Audrey Riley and Madie Schider and holding off late charges by Malone in all three sets.
The trio combined for for nine aces on the night, with Schider leading the way with four and Riley chipping in three.
A steady rotation of attackers meant different heroes in every set. In the first, freshman Marilyn Popplewell picked up where she left off on Tuesday night, finishing with seven kills to help the Chargers get out to an early 1-0 lead.
Sophomore Linnea Larson chipped in five kills in the second set and finished with seven on the night as well for the Chargers, while freshman Maizie Brown helped close out the match with five third set kills and finished with a team-high 10 kills on the night, along with three blocks and an ace.
Senior Maddie Clark also chipped in six kills on .417 hitting for Hillsdale, and Wiese led the Chargers defensively with 18 digs on the match.
Freshman Lauren Passaglia, sophomore Madeline Zenas and senior Lindsey Mertz split the setting duties, with each taking one set, and combined for 36 assists, helping the Chargers finish with 43 kills to Malone's 31.
The Chargers, now 21-4 overall, finish up the weekend road trip on Saturday with a trip to a red-hot Walsh squad that's won eight of its last nine G-MAC matches. A victory by the Chargers would clinch at least a share of the G-MAC North Division title, and move Hillsdale one step closer to the outright crown.
Photo by Anthony Lupi '22