The seventh-seeded Hillsdale College volleyball team left it all on the line in Thursday's NCAA Tournament quarterfinal in St. Louis, Missouri against second-seeded Ferris State, pushing the favored Bulldogs to the brink in an epic match that went the distance.
In the end, however, the Chargers came up just short in a 24-26, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18, 15-12 defeat to end the season at 27-7 overall.
Hillsdale dominated sets two and four, jumping out to a 9-1 lead in set two and coasting to tie the match up, and using a 6-2 run with the fourth set tied at 13 apiece to force a fifth and deciding set. But despite outscoring the Bulldogs overall in the match in total points, the Chargers couldn't close out opportunities in the first and third sets. The Chargers fought off three set points in set one to tie it at 24-all and earn a chance to seize the momentum, but Ferris State got the next two points to take the set. Then, in set three, with momentum on their side, a 21-17 lead, and a chance to take a formidable advantage in the match, Hillsdale couldn't hold on, giving up a 6-1 run that allowed Ferris State to pull ahead and getting outscored 8-2 to finish the set.
In the deciding set five, Hillsdale trailed from early on but showed resilience, battling back from a 13-9 deficit to come within two points of the lead twice. But it was just not quite enough as Ferris found the offense it needed to close out the match late.
The Chargers outhit Ferris State .186 to .155 in the match, but had their two worst hitting sets at the least opportune times, in sets three and five, finishing with 18 kills to Ferris' 28 in those two stanzas.
Defensively, Hillsdale played a strong match against a tough-hitting team, led by senior libero Alli Wiese, who led all players with 38 digs and in the process broke Hillsdale's career record for digs, set by her older sister Taylor Wiese from 2016-2019, in her final match with the Chargers. Wiese also finished with four service aces as well for Hillsdale, while junior Amanda Hilliker chipped in a career-high 21 digs and senior Audrey Riley added 14 digs and two aces as well.
Offensively, Hillsdale's All-Region outside hitter Marilyn Popplewell had another huge NCAA Tournament match for the Chargers, finishing with a team-high 20 kills and 13 digs. Junior middle hitter Maizie Brown added 14 kills and four total blocks, sophomore emory Braswell chipped in 13 kills, and senior Megan Kolp added eight kills for the Chargers offense.
Setter Lauren Passaglia had a big match for Hillsdale in the loss, finishing with an impressive 52 assists along with three kills and 11 digs.
The loss is a tough one for the Chargers, who were this close to advancing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight trip, but the future remains bright for Hillsdale. The Chargers will have a huge hole to fill with the graduation of Wiese the program's best-ever libero, and also lose two more important players in Kolp and Riley, but everyone else returns for Hillsdale in 2024, and the Chargers also bring in a very talented freshman class that could contain multiple impact players. The Chargers should continue to be one of the top teams in the Midwest Region and will look to add to their streak of G-MAC titles and NCAA Tournament appearances next fall.
Photo by Patrick Clark