The Hillsdale College volleyball team handled a challenge from a feisty Lake Erie squad with flair on Saturday at home, sweeping the Storm in straight sets, 25-19, 25-15, 25-17 for the Chargers' seventh win in a row.
Lake Erie entered the contest a dangerous team, having taken a solid Northwood squad to five sets the night before, and the Storm challenged Hillsdale early, scoring the first three points of the match, leading by as many as four points and tying the Chargers up in the first set as late as 14-all.
Despite a slow start offensively, however, Hillsdale wouldn't be held off. A 5-0 run led by back-to-back kills from junior Lauren Passaglia helped Hillsdale take a 14-12 lead, and the Chargers would never trail in the set again. Hillsdale closed out the set by scoring five of the final six points, including kills from Megan Kolp, Marilyn Popplewell and Passaglia as the Chargers got back on track offensively after struggling with errors early.
In set two, Hillsdale led from early on but didn't seize control of the set until the midway point, going on a 9-1 run to turn a 14-13 lead into an insurmountable 23-14 advantage. The Chargers hit .414 in the second set, putting up 14 kills to just two attack errors to pull away.
Lake Erie came back tough in the third set and looked to hang around and try and extend the match, but superb defensive play by Hillsdale's backrow of Audrey Riley, Alli Wiese and Amanda Hilliker snuffed out the Storm's chances by extending rallies and turning seemingly sure Lake Erie points into Hillsdale scores.
Wiese finished with 12 digs to lead the Chargers defensively, Riley chipped in eight and Hilliker added five digs and two service aces.
Just like in Friday night's win over Ursuline, Hillsdale was able to spread playing time around and get its entire bench involved, leading to a balanced effort offensively. Marilyn Popplewell hit .348 with 11 kills and five digs to lead the Chargers offensively, while junior middle hitter Maizie Brown was a force at the net offensively, and defensively, hitting .467 with nine kills, two solo blocks and three block assists.
Megan Kolp chipped in five kills as well for the Chargers, who played all three of their setters in the match. Josie TeSlaa led with 13 assists and five digs, while Lauren Passaglia split time between setting and hitting and finished with four kills, three block assists and eight assists. Vasiliki Paplomata chipped in four assists as well.
Hillsdale improves to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in the G-MAC North Division, with a big week ahead as the Chargers continue a long homestand. Up next for Hillsdale is a tough match with in-state rival and divisional foe Northwood at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, and following that is a revenge match for the Chargers against another G-MAC title contender out of the South Division, Cedarville, on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The Yellowjackets handed Hillsdale a loss on the road last season, and the Chargers will be looking for payback this Friday leading into Homecoming Saturday.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan