Hillsdale College volleyball split its first two home matches of G-MAC play, losing its Friday night match to Cedarville but winning the next day against Ohio Dominican.
The Chargers beat Cedarville, the 2016 G-MAC champions, in the first set 25-16, in front of more than 500 fans. The Yellow Jackets, however, came back in the next three sets 25-21, 25-20, and 25-15 to seize its first-ever win over Hillsdale.
“I would like to apologize to the fans of Friday night,” head coach Chris Gravel said. “The crowd was great, and we did not deliver. We can do better. We appreciate you coming, and thank you.”
Junior right side hitter Paige VanderWall and freshman middle hitter Allyssa Van Wienen both pounded 11 kills. Overall, the Chargers hit .144, compared to the Yellow Jackets’ .297.
Hillsdale’s offense struggled to overcome Cedarville’s defense — ranked the G-MAC’s top blocking team in 2016. Gabby Olson, the Yellow Jackets’ middle hitter and last year’s conference Player of the Year, racked up 12 block assists, contributing to her team’s 15 overall blocks during the match.
The Chargers recovered, however, from their loss, sweeping Ohio Dominican on Saturday.
“We served and passed better on Saturday than we did on Friday,” Gravel said.
VanderWall led Hillsdale’s offense with 12 kills, followed by junior outside hitter Kara Vyletel with 11. Hillsdale’s team hitting percentage for the match was .386, whereas Ohio Dominican only had a .044.
“Our team improved on communication and focus going into the ODU game,” freshman libero Madie Schider said. “We also had more passion and heart to play hard.”
The Chargers scored four aces through the match, two of which were made by senior outside hitter Jackie Langer.
“After the loss to Cedarville, we had to do some major regrouping,” Van Wienen said. “We realized we needed to do a better job at acknowledging when certain plays and shots weren’t working, and then make adjustments and try new things until we found something that did work and capitalized on it.”
Looking ahead, the team is trying to develop momentum to push through the early stages of G-MAC play.
“In practice, we’re focusing on improving toughness and decision-making for all hitters,” Gravel said.
Schider said the team is especially focusing on refining its performance in high-pressure situations.
“Fans should expect more good matches going forward,” she said. “They will see a family on the court, working to make each other better.”
Van Wienen agreed, and added that the Chargers are hungry for victory.
“Two conference losses so early in the season has knocked us back a little bit,” she said, “but it only makes us work harder as a team to come back from them.”
This weekend, the Chargers continue G-MAC play on the road, with a Friday evening match at Kentucky Wesleyan (5-7, 1-2) and a Saturday afternoon match at Trevecca Nazarene (3-9, 0-3).
