Volleyball beats Findlay for top tournament seed

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Volleyball beats Findlay for top tournament seed
The Chargers will host this weekend’s G-MAC Volleyball tournament. (Photo: Todd Lancaster | Courtesy)

Hillsdale volleyball concluded regular season play with an impressive sweep of the University of Findlay with scores of 25-19, 25-18, and 25-17 on Friday at the Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.

The Chargers improved to 25-3 overall and 15-2 in the conference, extending their winning streak to 18 matches. With the victory, they secured the top seed and home court advantage in the conference tournament — the first time Hillsdale will host a conference volleyball tournament since 2010.

Hillsdale previously lost to Findlay 3-2 in their only G-MAC face-off before Friday’s match. Since that loss, the Chargers have vastly improved their game, head coach Chris Gravel said.

“Earlier in the season we occasionally made several bad decisions consecutively,” Gravel said. “But now we are playing smarter volleyball. When Findlay made an emphasis to take something away from us we were quick to adjust.”

Gravel also said that the team has been working on serving and serve receive all season, and that paid off in the match against Findlay.

Freshman middle hitter Allyssa Van Wienen and freshman setter Lindsey Mertz each scored three aces, and junior rightside hitter Paige VanderWall and junior outside hitter Kara Vyletel each scored two — a total of ten Hillsdale aces. On the other hand, Findlay was only able to score two aces, despite their reputation as one of the best serving teams in the G-MAC.

Serving was not the only part of the Chargers’ offense that shone against Findlay. Playing her last regular season game as a Charger, senior outside hitter Jackie Langer made 14 kills and a .400 personal hitting percentage. She was awarded G-MAC Player of the Week for her performance in Friday’s match.

Langer contributed to an overall team hitting percentage of .402, followed by VanderWall with 12 kills and a .391 personal hitting percentage and Vyletel with 11 kills and a .381. Mertz provided the support the team needed for such a phenomenal offensive performance with 46 assists through the match.

The Chargers’ defense also stepped up in the sweep. The Oilers were limited to a .223 hitting percentage. Sophomore libero Taylor Wiese concluded the regular season with an impressive 13 digs, followed by Langer with 11.

Hillsdale focused on blocking in the practices leading up to the match, which Gravel said paid major dividends. Sophomore middle hitter Hannah Gates and Mertz each had four block assists, Van Wienen had three, and VanderWall had two.

“This season we haven’t been a big blocking team and wanted to change that,” VanderWall said. “So we’ve been going back to the basics and working on footwork and pressing over the net and I think that showed through.”

Gravel and VanderWall explained that the team performed well not just because of what they did in practice, but also because of the atmosphere. There were a total of 937 spectators in attendance, the largest crowd for a home volleyball game in the past five years.

“Oh my gosh, the overall crowd was awesome, it created a really fun atmosphere to play in. The student section brought so much energy and was so engaged, something my whole team talked about and really appreciated,” VanderWall said. “I think they also did a great job of getting in Findlay’s head a little bit, especially when they were back at the service line, so we may owe a couple of points to them. A huge thank you from Charger volleyball to whoever came.”

Looking forward, the Chargers will begin playing as the number one seed in the G-MAC tournament this Thursday. The 2017 tournament is the first time Hillsdale has hosted conference tournament since 2010.

“As we move on to postseason nothing will change,” Vyletel said. “We’ll remain focused on the task at hand and continue to work on the fundamentals.”

The Chargers’ first match is against Davis & Elkins College (10-20) at 7:30 this Thursday evening in the Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. The last time the programs faced off, in September, the Chargers won in a 3-0 sweep.

The winner of the Hillsdale — Davis & Elkins match will proceed to the semifinals on Friday, playing the winner of a matchup between Walsh and Cedarville.

“We have a deep bench,” Gravel said, “If everything goes as planned, we will be the team with the most energy come Saturday.”