For the sixth-straight season and the 15th time overall, the Hillsdale College women's volleyball team is going dancing.
The Chargers were revealed as the seventh seed in the 2023 NCAA DII Volleyball Tournament's Midwest Regional on Monday night, extending a long streak of NCAA Tournament appearances for Hillsdale. The Chargers will face second-seeded Ferris State in a regional quarterfinal match on Thursday, Nov. 30 in St. Louis, Missouri at a time to be determined. The regional will be hosted by the University of Missouri-St. Louis, who earned the top overall seed with a 30-1 record.
There was no drama about making the field, as Hillsdale had already secured the auto-bid by winning the G-MAC Tournament for the seventh consecutive season on Saturday, but the announcement was still an exciting one for a team hoping to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
The Chargers will face a familiar foe in the Bulldogs, who have met in each of the past two NCAA Tournaments. Hillsdale upset top-seeded Ferris State in four sets on their home floor in the 2021 Midwest Regional final to clinch the program's second-ever Elite Eight appearance, while the Bulldogs returned the favor in 2022, downing the Chargers 3-1 in a Midwest Regional semifinal match in Quincy, Illinois.
Overall, Hillsdale is 13-16 since 1998 against the Bulldogs, as the two Midwest Region powers have had many great battles over the years. This first round meeting could be another one.
Hillsdale also has had recent success as the seven seed in the NCAA Tournament, upsetting second-seeded Lewis in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament in a five-set thriller to advance. It was the third straight year that the Chargers advanced at least one round in the NCAA Tournament, after reaching the Sweet 16 in 2019 and winning the Midwest Regional title in 2021.
More information about the Chargers' NCAA Tournament matchup, including match time and live stream and ticket information, will be revealed in the coming days, so keep your eyes on hillsdalechargers.com for more information.
Photo by Scott Galvin