On the biggest stage they've been on in a decade, the Hillsdale College volleyball team got exactly the start it wanted.
Unfortunately, the dream finish proved elusive for the Chargers in their NCAA Division II Elite Eight matchup on Thursday in Tampa, Florida. The fourth-seeded Chargers battled hard but couldn't hold off fifth seeded Gannon, which took the final three sets to hand Hillsdale a 25-20, 20-25, 21-25, 16-25 loss that ended the Chargers' season.
Hillsdale came out firing in the first set, jumping out to a 14-7 lead behind two kills apiece from junior Karoline Shelton and senior Maggie DePorre. Gannon made a late push to get back into the set, but three clutch kills by DePorre with the Chargers above 20 points helped Hillsdale close things out and take a 25-20 lead.
The next two sets were back-and-forth, but Hillsdale could never seem to get back to the form they showed in the first set after Gannon settled in. The Chargers battled back from an early Gannon run in Set 2, using a Shelton kill to come as close as 14-13, but the Knights reeled off five straight points from there to regain control of the set and ride out their advantage for a match-tying victory.
The third set was even closer, with Hillsdale using a four-point run capped by an ace from senior Allyssa Van Wienen to take an 18-17 lead and threaten to seize control of the match, but Gannon responded with four straight kills from big hitters Lauren Sampson and Ashley McClung to take a lead it would never relinquish, then rode that momentum to a comfortable set four victory.
Shelton had an excellent match for Hillsdale to give the Chargers a chance, finishing with 17 kills and 21 digs for her 23rd double-double of the season. DePorre chipped in seven kills, senior Maddie Clark added six and Van Wienen chipped in six as well in their final match in a Hillsdale uniform.
Defensively, freshman libero Alli Wiese recorded 26 digs to lead the Chargers in the loss. That gives Wiese 624 digs for the season, breaking the old single-season school record of 618 set by her older sister, Taylor, in 2019.
Senior Madie Schider chipped in 22 digs as well for the Chargers in a strong defensive performance, and freshman Maizie Brown added four block assists as well.
Capping an excellent career, senior setter Lindsey Mertz finished with 39 assists and seven digs in the match. With those seven digs, Mertz becomes just the 13th player in Charger history, and the first setter, to record 1,000 digs for her career.
The Chargers finish an excellent season at 30-5 overall. Hillsdale won its fifth-straight G-MAC regular season and tournament titles, and captured just the program's second-ever Midwest Regional title this season, reaching the Elite Eight for the first time since 2011.
Hillsdale will miss especially its five seniors -- Clark, DePorre, Mertz, Schider and Van Wienen, who helped lead the Chargers to so many accomplishments over the last five years. While this season's run didn't end exactly the way they had dreamed of, it's still one of the best seasons in school history and a fitting capstone on the careers of one of the greatest classes in program history, one that will be remembered fondly for many years to come and help set the bar for future classes of Charger volleyball players moving forward.
Photo Courtesy of Ferris St. Athletics