The Hillsdale College volleyball team showed resilience on the road on Friday night, shaking off a heart-wrenching 30-28 first set loss to take the next three sets and hand Northwood a loss in a critical G-MAC showdown.
Coming off a painful five-set loss by the slimmest of margins to G-MAC leader Walsh on Sunday, the Chargers suffered another big blow in the first set on the road against the Timberwolves, as Northwood overcame a 16-12 deficit to tie the set at 23-all late. Hillsdale fought off three set points, but couldn't capitalize on two set points of their own at 27-26 and 28-27, and Northwood took the set with three straight points, including back-to-back kills.
That could have been a back-breaking loss for the Chargers, but Hillsdale refused to be discouraged, coming out swinging in the second set and out-toughing the Timberwolves at a critical moment. After tying set two at 13-all, Hillsdale never trailed again, gradually pulling away in the back half of the set for a 25-21 victory that tied the match. That victory was the morale boost the Chargers needed, as Hillsdale seized control early in both the third and fourth sets and never really let Northwood back into the match after that point, rolling to 25-20 and 26-16 victories to secure their eighth conference victory of the season.
In a tough fight between two G-MAC North Division title contenders, Hillsdale won by being the more efficient and balanced team offensively. The Chargers finished with 64 kills to Northwood's 55, and committed 20 attack errors to the Timberwolves' 26, giving Hillsdale a .286 to .201 edge in hitting percentage.
Three Chargers finished with double-digit kills, led by sophomore Emory Braswell, who finished with a career-high 17 kills and an efficient .302 hitting percentage in the victory, as well as nine digs. Junior Marilyn Popplewell finished with 15 kills on a .371 hitting percentage, three total blocks and six digs, and middle hitter Maizie Brown added 13 kills on a .550 hitting percentage and four block assists. Senior Megan Kolp chipped in eight kills and Sydney Sahr seven kills as well.
Defensively, Alli Wiese led the Chargers with 20 digs and two service aces, and Audrey Riley chipped in nine digs as well. Setter Lauren Passaglia had a magnificent match orchestrating the Hillsdale offense, finishing with 51 assists and also chipping in three block assists and five digs.
The victory is a huge one for Hillsdale (14-3, 8-1 G-MAC), as it not only keeps them a game back of undefeated Walsh in the standings, with a home contest against the Cavaliers to come later in the season, but also deals a serious blow to Northwood's title chances, as they are now three back of Walsh with several tough matches remaining, and two back of the Chargers with Hillsdale having swept the season series with Northwood.
Hillsdale now heads into the Midwest Regional Crossover next Friday and Saturday in Hammond, Indiana as the likely two seed from the G-MAC in the event. The Chargers will get three matches against title contenders from the GLVC and GLIAC with a chance to burnish their resume for NCAA Tournament consideration at the end of the year, with two matches on Friday, and one on Saturday. Matchups will be revealed on Sunday, so keep your eye on hillsdalechargers.com for more information on the event.
Photo by Isabella Sheehan