The Hillsdale College volleyball team did not lose a set in either of its games this weekend.
Sweeping both Wayne State University (Mich.) on Friday, and the University of Findlay on Saturday, the Chargers reached an above .500 record for the first time this season, with a 9-8 record overall and a 6-3 record in the GLIAC.
The Chargers were down a player this weekend, with junior Alexis Waugh unavailable due to illness. Waugh is one of the team’s setters, which left sophomore Marissa Owen as the only setter through the whole rotation.
“I was definitely nervous,” Owen said. “But the rest of the team picked me up and gave me confidence.”
Owen had 27 assists against Wayne State, and set a career record of 42 assists in Saturday’s game against Findlay.
Head coach Chris Gravel said Owen and sophomore Jenalle Beaman had noteworthy games this weekend. He explained that they came out and did more than they had in the past.
Beaman was the first Charger of the season to win the GLIAC North Division player of the week. She had eight kills and 10 digs against Wayne State, and 13 kills against Findlay.
“Everyone brought their game,” Beaman said.
She explained that the games were challenging because they were missing Waugh and learned a new rotation the night before Friday’s game.
The rotation struggled in practice, Gravel said, but was successful over the weekend. He explained that this was due to the talent of his non-starters who were challenging opponents for the starters on the other side of the net.
“In practice, the opposing side really made us work,” Owen said. “We were used to that fight.”
The team knew these games would determine how well the rest of the season would go, Beaman explained. She said the players were all on the same page even with the extra challenges.
“We still came in with the mentality that we were going to win,” Beaman said.
The team reached a .424 hitting percentage against Findlay, the highest in over two years.They had 50 kills and only eight errors.
This weekend, the Chargers have two home games, against Lake Erie College on Friday at 7 p.m. and Ashland University on Saturday at noon.
“Expect a good game between Ashland and us,” Beaman said.
She also said to expect a lot of fight from both teams.
Owen said the goal is to keep the momentum from two perfect weekends going into these games.
“You should be able to tell that we are working hard,” Gravel said. “It should look like we are having fun.”
After this weekend, the Chargers will play in the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover Tournament in Aurora, Ill. on Oct. 25 and 26. Owen said they will watch a lot of film before the tournament to figure out what the other teams like to do.
“Every match is big from here on out,” Gravel said.
