The Hillsdale College volleyball team shook off any effects quickly from a long drive south to take on Kentucky Wesleyan on Friday night, easing past the host Panthers for a 25-15, 25-20, 29-27 victory.
Hillsdale dominated the net in the victory, finishing with 42 kills to Kentucky Wesleyan's 31 and outhitting the Panthers .181 to .066 in a solid offensive performance for the Chargers, who made the six hour drive down to Owensboro on Friday afternoon and played Kentucky Wesleyan on the same night.
Powering that performance were Hillsdale's most experienced hitters. Fifth-year senior Megan Kolp was sensational, finishing with a team-high 12 kills on a scorching .688 hitting percentage to lead the Chargers. Redshirt junior Maizie Brown added five kills, three blocks and seven digs from a middle hitter position, one of five other players with four or more kills in the victory as Hillsdale spread the offensive attack around to keep the Panthers off balance. Marilyn Popplewell chipped in five kills and 11 digs for the Chargers, and middle hitters Sydney Sahr and Adi Sysum each chipped in four.
Junior Alli Wiese led Hillsdale with 16 digs and two aces, and Amanda Hilliker added eight digs as well. Junior Lauren Passaglia had a strong all-around game with six kills, 29 assists, two block assists and 10 digs as well.
Trailing 11-10 early in the first set, Hillsdale went on an 11-2 run to seize full control and pull away, and it was a similar story in the second set, as Hillsdale went on a 7-0 run at 15-15 fueled by multiple kills from both Kolp and Brown to take a 2-0 lead.
The third set was hotly contested as Kentucky Wesleyan was motivated to avoid the sweep on their home floor. Hillsdale had to fight off two Kentucky Wesleyan match points at 25-24 and 26-25 to stay alive in the set, and seized control with kills by Marilyn Popplewell. Kolp finished off the match with a big kill to clinch the set at 29-27.
Hillsdale is now 19-5 overall, 11-2 in G-MAC play, and travels to Trevecca Nazarene on Saturday for a 2 p.m. ET contest. With a victory, Hillsdale can reach the 20 win mark for a program-record seventh straight season and stay alive in the G-MAC North Division title race with a big home weekend looming on the horizon.
Photo by Reva Ludwig