The Hillsdale College volleyball team kicked off the 2023 season with two tough matches in the Upper Peninsula on Friday afternoon, splitting the pair of contests against strong teams from Northern Michigan and Winona State.
Hillsdale 3, Northern Michigan 0
In the morning contest, the Chargers opened the 2023 season with an emphatic victory over a 2022 NCAA Tournament qualifier in hostile territory on Friday, rolling past host Northern Michigan in straight sets to start the UP Open.
Hillsdale used an incredibly efficient offensive performance to take the win, hitting .275 with just four attack errors across the three sets, while holding the Wildcats to just a 0.081 hitting percentage and forcing NMU into 17 attack errors.
That edge in efficiency carried over to other parts of the contest, as the Chargers also served up nine service aces and just three service errors compared to NMU's two aces and seven service errors. Those little edges turned into a massive advantage for the Chargers, who outscored the Wildcats by 24 points across the three sets despite just edging the Wildcats in total kills, 29-27.
The Chargers jumped to to a solid lead in both of the first two sets, using a 10-3 edge early in set one to pull away, and taking a 13-7 lead in set two to cruise to victory as well. Set three was tougher, as Hillsdale fell into a massive 8-1 hole early, but quickly turned things around with a 9-3 run that included four kills from junior Marilyn Popplewell to get back to even, and then another 5-0 run with the score tied at 14 to pull away and close out the match for good.
Up front, Hillsdale used a balanced attack offensively, led by junior Marilyn Popplewell, who hit .444 for the match with nine kills and seven digs. Sophomore Emory Braswell added seven kills and five digs for the Chargers, and junior Maizie Brown hit .500 with six kills and two solo blocks.
Directing Hillsdale's offensive attack with precision was junior setter Lauren Passaglia, who finished with 18 assists and 11 digs in the contest. Junior libero Alli Wiese led the Chargers defensively with 15 digs and two aces, and senior Audrey Riley chipped in four aces as well.
Winona State 3, Hillsdale 2
In the nightcap, the Chargers rallied from a 2-1 set deficit with an emphatic 25-14 set four victory, but couldn't overcome a slow start in the fifth and deciding set in a hard-fought defeat at the hands of Winona State.
All of the first three sets were close. Hillsdale scored the final three points of set one to break a 22-all deadlock with the Warriors, aided by kills from Popplewell and Braswell and a block by sophomore Adi Sysum, to take a 1-0 lead. Winona State struck back in set two, cruising to a 22-16 lead and holding off a late comeback attempt by Hillsdale to win 25-22 and even up the match.
Set three also went down to the wire, as Hillsdale couldn't capitalize on two set points at 24-23 and 25-24, eventually falling 28-26 to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead. Backs against the wall, Hillsdale dominated set four to stay in the match, hitting .387 with 14 kills while forcing the Warriors into seven attack errors to even up the match.
Hillsdale couldn't carry that momentum, however, into the fifth set, as Winona State scored the first three points of the set to seize control early and never relinquished the lead the rest of the way, eventually closing out the Chargers by a 15-7 score.
The Chargers played well overall, matching Winona State with a .156 hitting percentage and edging them in total kills, 57-54. But the Chargers couldn't overcome a rough fifth set offensively, hitting -0.053, and missed opportunities to seize control of the match earlier. The Warriors also won the battle at the net, finishing with 14 total blocks to Hillsdale's nine.
Popplewell and Braswell each chipped in 16 kills and nine digs to lead the Chargers offensively in the loss, and Megan Kolp added 11 kills. Junior Maizie Brown added six kills and five solo blocks in a strong performance up front for Hillsdale, while Alli Wiese led Hillsdale defensively with 35 digs and three aces, and Audrey Riley chipped in 14 digs and two aces.
Lauren Passaglia orchestrated the Hillsdale offense with 41 assists, and adding four kills and 11 digs as well.
Hillsdale is now 1-1 on the year and faces both a stiff test and a huge opportunity tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m., as the Chargers continue the UP Open with a match against unbeaten Concordia-St. Paul, the defending NCAA DII runner-up and currently the second-ranked team in the nation. With four All-Americans returning from 2022, the Golden Bears will be a difficult team to upset, but Hillsdale could make a big statement if it can find a way to win. Regardless of the result, Hillsdale will close out the UP Open with another match at 4:30 p.m. against regional foe Michigan Tech as well.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan