In an extremely competitive second day at the Upper Peninsula Open in Marquette, Michigan, on Saturday, the Chargers battled their way to a split, falling to second-ranked Concordia-St. Paul in three set by razor-thin margins, before taking down regional foe Michigan Tech in a five-set thriller to end the weekend's action at 2-2.
Hillsdale 3, Michigan Tech 2
For the second time in two days, the Chargers went to a deciding fifth set with a strong opponent, but unlike Friday's loss to Winona State, it was Hillsdale that controlled the crucial set from start to finish in a critical win over the Huskies to finish Hillsdale's time at the UP Open.
Hillsdale seized control from the jump in set five, scoring the first three points and never trailing. Michigan Tech rallied to tie the set at 5-all, but the Chargers responded with a 6-0 run that all but ended the match. A big block from freshman Marcelina Gorny started the run, and kills by Lauren Passaglia and Marilyn Popplewell, as well as an ace from junior Amanda Hilliker, helped Hillsdale to pull away for a dominant 15-7 victory.
After dropping the first set to Michigan Tech by a narrow 25-23 margin, Hillsdale battled back with strong performances in the second and third set, rolling to 25-18 and 25-15 victories. The Chargers had a shot to close out the match in the fourth set but fell behind early and couldn't quite complete the comeback in a 25-22 set four loss that sent the match to a fifth set.
The Chargers hit .232 for the match in a solid offensive effort, led by junior Marilyn Popplewell, who finished with a team-high 15 kills and 11 digs, and sophomore Emory Braswell, who chipped in 11 kills. Senior Megan Kolp chipped in nine kills and three solo blocks for Hillsdale, and sophomore Sydney Sahr finished with eight kills.
Libero Alli Wiese led the Chargers defensively with 18 digs as well, and setter Lauren Passaglia had an impressive all-around match for Hillsdale, directing the offense with 45 assists while also chipping in three kills, four aces and seven digs.
#2 Concordia St. Paul 3, Hillsdale 0
The Chargers opened the day with a competitive match against one of the best NCAA DII volleyball teams in the nation, 2022 national runner-up and second-ranked Concordia-St. Paul. While Hillsdale was unable to take a set off the Golden Bears, the Chargers were in all three sets until the very end in a match that was much closer than the sweep indicates.
Hillsdale led as late as 21-20 and was tied at 23-all late in the first set before Concordia-St. Paul scored back-to-back points to go up 1-0 in the match. The Chargers also hung tough in set two before falling 25-21 and led by as many as five points deep into set three looking to extend the match. While Hillsdale had substantial edges at times in the third set, they couldn't finish off the Golden Bears, who used a 7-0 run and a 6-1 run in quick succession to rally back and close out the match with a 25-22 victory.
The Chargers put up solid offensive numbers against the Golden Bears, hitting .208 and racking up 35 kills, but couldn't quite match the offensive firepower of Concordia-St. Paul, who hit .300 and averaged 16.33 kills per set. Despite the difference in offensive output, Hillsdale was able to stay in the match and give themselves a chance to win every set thanks to solid defensive play and finding ways to generate points.
Emory Braswell led the Chargers offensively with 10 kills and Marilyn Popplewell chipped in nine kills and a team-high eight digs. Megan Kolp added six kills and six digs as well for the Chargers, and Maizie Brown chipped in two solo blocks.
Lauren Passaglia finished with 28 assists as the team's setter and chipped in three kills and five digs as well.
For the weekend, both Marilyn Popplewell and Lauren Passaglia were named to the UP Open All-Tournament team for their outstanding play across the four matches.
The Chargers leave the Upper Peninsula at 2-2 overall, but having picked up two quality wins against Midwest Regional competition that should pay dividends for Hillsdale down the road. Next up for the Chargers is the Findlay Classic next weekend in Ohio, beginning at 5 p.m. on Thursday with a match against Indiana (PA). That will be the first of four matches on the weekend as Hillsdale looks to build momentum heading into conference play the following weekend.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan