The Hillsdale College Chargers won two games this weekend, increasing their overall record, and further cementing their status as the team-to-beat in the G-MAC. The Chargers are now ranked 11 in the country and are inching closer to a top-ten ranking by the week.
Junior Allyssa Van Wienen was honored as the G-MAC Offensive Player of the Week for the 5th time this season for her impressive weekend performance. Senior Taylor Wiese was her usual self and put together an impressive defensive performance earning her own honors for G-MAC Defensive Player of the Week.
Van Wienen needs just 16 kills in the remainder of the season to meet the 300-kill mark, an impressive feat for offensive players. It would be the first time in her career to meet that mark. During the Saturday match, Wiese recorded her 2,000th career dig. She is only the second player in school history to do so and now sits in second place for career digs at Hillsdale.
The Chargers played Trevecca Nazarene leaving nothing up to chance and defeating the Trojans in three sets. Hillsdale won the sets with scores of 25-15, 25-16, and 25-19, respectively.
The Chargers dominated statistically, leading the Trojans in hitting percentage (.371), digs (40), and aces (7). Prior to playing the Chargers, Trevecca Nazarene was second to Hilsdale in the G-MAC for allowed hitting percentage with .161.
In her return to starting play, Van Wienen was back to her original excellence with 13 kills and a .522 hitting percentage. Sophomore Maggie DePorre added another impressive offensive performance with 10 kills on 15 attempts with a .533 hitting percentage.
Sophomore Karoline Shelton contributed to the offense with three of the teams seven service aces. Freshman Megan Kolp, senior Dani Jones, and Shelton each had six kills in the match. Junior setter Lindsay Mertz had an impressive 38 assists in the match greatly assisting the offensive explosive that contributed to the match win.
On the defense, senior Taylor Wiese led the team with 16 digs.
Following their sweep of the Trevecca Nazarene Trojans, the Chargers travelled to Owensboro, Kentucky to play the Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers. The Chargers put up a similarly impressive defeat over the team winning in three sets. The Chargers won the match with set scores of 25-15, 25-13, and 25-18.
Wiese began the game with an impressive 10-0 run in which she had four service aces. Junior Madie Schider was effective on the defense with with 16 digs. Mertz had 34 assists and four digs in the match.
On the offense, Van Wienen led with 11 kills and no errors with a .524 hitting percentage. Shelton performed well on both sides of the ball with nine kills and nine digs. Senior Emily Lachmann had nine kills with a .348 hitting percentage.
“I believe we can accomplish anything together if we have the heart and will,” Freshman Audrey Riley said. “I definitely don’t think about our ranking when we play our opponents. In the end rankings do not mean much, it’s about how well we perform and how hard we work.”
The Chargers will face off against the Walsh University Cavaliers and the Malone University Pioneers this weekend. The match versus malone is vital to the Chargers season as the winner will likely take sole possession of the number one rank in the G-MAC.
Until this point in the season, the Chargers and the Cavaliers are both undefeated in the G-MAC, and while Walsh will prove to be a worthy opponent, they lack the national recognition that the Chargers have earned. The match will prove to be a winner-takes-all shootout that fans will not want to miss.