2023 CSC Academic All-District Volleyball Teams
Two of Hillsdale College's standout volleyball players in 2023 excelled in the classroom as well as the volleyball court, as evidenced by the announcement of the College Sports Communicators' 2023 Academic All-District volleyball teams on Tuesday afternoon.
For the second straight season, junior outside hitter Marilyn Popplewell and senior libero Alli Wiese received the distinction from the CSC, adding to a long list of recognition that also includes AVCA All-American honorable mention honors for both players earlier this month.
The CSC Academic All-America® program began in 1952 and has awarded teams since then, seeking out student athletes with an impressive blend of academic and athletic success. Being named to an All-District team is the first step in the process, and requires an athlete holds a 3.5 or better GPA and is an important contributor on the court. Both Popplewell and Wiese met those exacting standards to be recognized by the program once again.
Along with Academic All-District and AVCA All-American honorable mention honors, Popplewell also earned first-team All-G-MAC and first-team All-Region in 2023. Hillsdale's biggest and most consistent offensive threat up front, Popplewell led the Chargers in kills for the second consecutive season and finished fifth in the G-MAC in kills per set with a career-high 3.37. Her 394 kills rank eighth all-time in Hillsdale College history for a single season and her 896 career kills have her on the cusp of become just the 13th player in Hillsdale College history to surpass 1,000 career kills, a mark she'll likely achieve early in her senior season.
But while Popplewell has been a potent offensive weapon throughout her career for Hillsdale, this All-American honor in 2023 is a testament to the growth of her all-around game. After playing almost exclusively in the front row in her first two seasons, Popplewell became a six-rotation player for the Chargers in 2023 and excelled, finishing with a career high 266 digs, 2.27 per set and nine double-doubles. The junior also became a potent force at the service line for Hillsdale. Despite entering the 2023 season with just six service aces to her name, Popplewell surpassed that number in one early-season match with a program record eight aces in a four-set victory over Wayne State on Sept. 8. Popplewell finished with 34 total aces on the season for the Chargers. Those numbers helped her stand out throughout the season for Hillsdale, as the junior was named to the All-Tournament team at the UP Open, the Findlay Classic, the Midwest Regional Crossover and the G-MAC Tournament.
Off the court, Popplewell is one of the top students in her class at Hillsdale College, earning the Grace Nichole Outstanding Freshman Prize two springs ago for her standing in her class, as well as receiving the Rick Foreign Language Scholarship and the Muniz Spanish Scholarship from Hillsdale. She's currently working on degrees in both Biology and Spanish, with two semesters on the 4.0 dean's list in her four at Hillsdale College.
She's joined in earning Academic All-District recognition this season by Wiese, who caps her stellar career with the Chargers by being recognized by the AVCA for the second straight season.
The graduating Wiese has been a history-making libero for the Chargers throughout four seasons, as she became the first libero ever to be named G-MAC Player of the Year this past season while also earning All-Region honors from both the AVCA and D2CCA this season. Wiese stepped in as a libero in the second weekend of the spring 2021 season as a freshman and has been in the role ever since, starting all four seasons of her career while leading Hillsdale to three regular season conference championships, four conference tournament titles, three NCAA DII Tournament appearances and the 2021 Midwest Regional title.
Along the way she's etched herself into the record book at Hillsdale in several spots, tying the single-match record for digs with 40 against Walsh in 2022, breaking the single-season record for both Hillsdale and the G-MAC with 731 digs last season, and setting a new single-season service aces record at Hillsdale with 65 aces this year. She finished her career in the NCAA Tournament with one final record, surpassing Hillsdale's career digs mark of 2,251 set by her older sister, Taylor, from 2016 to 2019. With 38 digs against Ferris State, Wiese finishes with 2,268 for her career, the most in Chargers history. Her 192 service aces also rank second all-time for a career at Hillsdale in the stat. For her performance in the NCAA Tournament, Wiese also was named to the 2023 All-Midwest Regional team.
Off the court, Wiese has balanced her athletic success with six honor roll semesters and one of the highest cumulative GPAs on the volleyball team, as well as membership in both Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and Hillsdale College's accounting club, where she works as the group's social chair and as a tutor to other students.
As part of being selected to the All-District team, both Wiese and Popplewell are now eligible for consideration for Academic All-American honors through CSC. Members will vote through December 19 with the three Academic All-American teams slated to be announced on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at noon.