An undefeated weekend highlighted by a record-setting performance has the Hillsdale College volleyball team bringing home additional hardware from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference this afternoon.
The G-MAC office announced on Monday that Chargers junior outside hitter Marilyn Popplewell has been named the G-MAC North Division Offensive Player of the Week, and junior libero Alli Wiese has won North Division Defensive Player of the Week, sweeping the awards for the week of Sept. 4-11.
The recognition comes in addition to the awards Popplewell and Wiese won over the weekend at the Findlay Classic, where Popplewell was named to the All-Tournament team and Wiese was named Outstanding Libero of the event. This is Popplewell's second weekly conference award in her career, and Wiese's tenth.
Popplewell put up big numbers for the second straight weekend for the Chargers, recording 47 kills and leading the Chargers in kills in three of Hillsdale's four victories at the Findlay Classic. Her best performance came in a critical four-set victory over Midwest region foe Wayne State on Friday, as Popplewell not only led the Chargers with 15 kills but also shattered Hillsdale's school record for service aces in a single match with eight.
That's the second single-match record Popplewell has claimed sole ownership of in two seasons, after setting Hillsdale's record for kills in a single match with 28 in Hillsdale's upset victory over second-seeded Lewis in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. While Popplewell was impressive as a sophomore, earning first-team All-G-MAC honors for the Chargers in 2022, she's still found room to improve her game entering her junior year. Popplewell had just six service aces in the entirety of the 2022 season, so her performance from the line so far indicates she's developed another weapon to add to an already dangerous offensive arsenal in her third season with the Chargers.
Wiese, meanwhile, has continued her All-American level of play with consistently strong efforts in the first two weeks of her fourth season at Hillsdale. The junior averaged 4.5 digs per set to help Hillsdale to an undefeated record at the Findlay Classic, highlighted by 23 digs in the Chargers' four-set victory over Wayne State. On top of that defensive performance, Wiese served up six aces across the weekend, finishing with multiple aces in three of the Chargers' four matches.
Already well-decorated for her career achievements across four seasons as Hillsdale's starting libero, Wiese is closing in on history, needing 457 digs to surpass her older sister, Taylor's, Hillsdale career record of 2,251 set in 2020. That's a mark that Wiese is on pace to surpass so far this season. The career service ace record also is in play for Wiese, who has 142 after this weekend, within reach of the record of 219 set by Katie Keane from 1994-97 if she chooses to take a fifth season in 2024 with her extra year of eligiibility.
The Chargers are now 6-2 overall entering G-MAC play this weekend, and will look to Popplewell and Wiese to continue to provide top-notch play on the court as Hillsdale begins its run for a seventh-straight G-MAC North Division title with a match against Ursuline on Friday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m.
Photos by Meredith Wipper