Fans packed Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena in record numbers to watch the Hillsdale College volleyball team play a critical match on Homecoming Friday against Cedarville.
And the Chargers proved to be deserving of the hype.
Hillsdale rolled past Cedarville, who entered Friday's match unbeaten and one of the favorites to bring home the G-MAC South Division title, in a 25-16, 25-23, 25-19 sweep.
It's the Chargers' second-straight victory over a previously unbeaten G-MAC opponent this week after taking down Northwood on Wednesday, and helps keep Hillsdale in first place in the G-MAC North Division with a perfect 4-0 record.
Hillsdale played an all-around excellent match to keep Cedarville's powerful front line off-balance throughout. The Chargers were strong on the attack, hitting .224 to the Yellow Jackets' .115 for the match, and also controlled Cedarville defensively at the service line, keeping the Yellow Jackets from consistently running their offense with strong serving, and at the net, with nine total blocks to Cedarville's three.
The Chargers rolled to a 25-16 victory in set one, jumping out to a 12-6 lead and never looking back. Junior Marilyn Popplewell led the charge for Hillsdale with six kills on nine swings to help build that big lead and pull away for good.
Cedarville came out determined in set two, leading for most of the early part of the set and by as many as four points. Trailing 17-15, Hillsdale put together a critical 4-0 mini-run sparked by back-to-back kills from Emory Braswell to pull ahead, and never trailed again in the set.
Hillsdale showed its killer instinct to close out the match against a tough opponent in set three, jumping out to a 6-2 advantage. Fighting desperately to get back in the match, Cedarville rallied to take a 13-11 lead, and the set was tied at 16 when Hillsdale strung together another critical 4-0 run sparked by a kill from Maizie Brown to create the separation it needed to complete the sweep.
Popplewell had a sensational night, showcasing once again her knack for playing her best volleyball in the biggest matches. She led Hillsdale with 14 kills on a .375 hitting percentage and looked like the best hitter on the floor for much of the match. Braswell chipped in eight kills, Brown added six kills on a .545 hitting percentage and four total blocks, and Adi Sysum added five kills and three block assists.
Senior Megan Kolp contributed five total blocks defensively for Hillsdale, while libero Alli Wiese chipped in 11 digs. Setter Lauren Passaglia had a solid outing, with 29 assists, three block assists and eight digs as well.
Charger fans packed Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena for the homecoming match, with 963 fans in attendance. That makes it the best attended home regular season match in Chargers volleyball history, surpassing the old record of 937 set against Findlay in 2017.
Hillsdale is now 10-2 overall and 4-0 in the G-MAC, and finishes off the week with a home match at noon against Thomas More. It's the first-ever meeting between the Chargers and the Saints, who are new to the G-MAC this season after reclassifying from the NAIA.
Photo by Hope Canlas