Despite solid defensive play and a milestone-reaching performance by junior libero Alli Wiese, the Hillsdale College volleyball team was unable to upset GLVC power Quincy in the 2023 Midwest Regional Crossover on Saturday.
The Chargers fought hard in three competitive sets and recorded 10 total blocks, but ultimately fell to the Hawks 25-20, 25-20 and 25-19 to drop to 16-4 on the year.
Hillsdale was in all three sets with the Hawks past the midway point -- trailing 17-16 in the first set, 22-20 in the second set, and 20-19 in the third set -- but never found the run it needed to gain and advantage, and was unable to fight off late pushes offensively by Quincy to secure all three sets.
For the match, the Hawks hit .333 with 46 kills, while the Chargers finished hitting .136 with 29 kills.
Junior Marilyn Popplewell led Hillsdale offensively with 10 kills on the evening, senior Megan Kolp added seven kills and five block assists, and Emory Braswell and Maizie Brown each chipped in four kills as well.
Amanda Hilliker led the Chargers defensively with nine digs, while Wiese finished with eight. Wiese entered the match needing just six digs to become only the third player in Chargers history to record 2,000 digs for her career, and now sits at 2,002 after today's match, an impressive achievement for the junior who earned All-American honors last season.
Sydney Sahr added three kills and five total blocks for Hillsdale, while setter Lauren Passaglia had a solid all-around match, chipping in 20 assists, three service aces, two solo blocks and five digs.
Hillsdale (16-4) finishes the 2023 Midwest Regional Crossover at 2-1 overall, and as one of just two G-MAC teams in the top half of the league standings with a winning record in the event along with Findlay.
The Chargers now enter the stretch run in G-MAC play with a huge weekend ahead, with three home matches in three days. At 8-1 in G-MAC play, the Chargers trail G-MAC North Division leader Walsh's 9-0 record and can't afford a slip-up ahead of a rematch with the Cavaliers on Nov. 4. That makes securing three wins next weekend paramount despite tough competition coming to Hillsdale, starting with G-MAC South Division leader Ashland, currently 9-1 in G-MAC play, who will face the Chargers at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20.
Photo by Anthony Lupi