The Hillsdale volleyball team secured first place in the G-MAC North Division last weekend while sweeping player of the week awards for the second time in a row.
The Chargers won two four-set matches at home on Nov. 4 and 5 against the Walsh University Cavaliers and Malone University Pioneers to close out the 2022 regular season. Along with giving the team the lead in the G-MAC North Division, these wins positioned Hillsdale to enter the 2022 Great Midwest Volleyball Championship in second place, one spot behind Ashland University.
The Chargers will play against the seventh seeded Northwood Timberwolves in the first round of the tournament.
“Originally we thought we were gonna get Walsh again so the Northwood matchup was just a little bit of a surprise to us, but we’re really excited to take on Northwood,” assistant coach Taylor Wiese said. “At Northwood, they took us to five in a very very close match and played us incredibly tough. Since that match, I think we’ve made some adjustments so it’ll be really nice to get them again on Thursday and hopefully get a win.”
Due to her performance in the Walsh and Malone matches, senior outside hitter Karoline Shelton earned the G-MAC North Division Offensive Player of the Week Award for the fourth time this season. She put together 38 kills between the two matches, 21 of them on Saturday alone and totalled an impressive .500 hitting percentage in the match against the Pioneers.
“This weekend was full of lots of fun and lots of love,” Shelton said. “It really feels like all of our levels of play are peaking and we’re all starting to play to the best of our ability.”
Sophomore libero Alli Wiese likewise claimed her fourth G-MAC North Division Defensive Player of the Week Award on the season, putting together a stunning performance Friday night against the Cavaliers with 40 digs. This tied the Charger’s single-match dig record set by her sister Taylor Wiese in 2019, and with 18 more digs on Saturday, Wiese broke the program’s single season dig record for the second year in a row.
On Saturday the Chargers also celebrated the six graduating seniors on this season’s roster: defensive specialist Audrey Riley; middle hitters Megan Kolp and Linnea Larson; and outside hitters Emily Susitko, Madeline Zenas, and Karoline Shelton.
“Everyone was able to walk with their family, which was really nice,” Wiese said. “Our first two set lineups had all six seniors in both of those lineups so every senior played almost the whole match which is really nice.We also had our banquet on Sunday so all their families were able to celebrate them, and even though the season isn’t over, it was a really good opportunity for them to speak about their experience and their career and do a lot of thank yous.”
Friday and Saturday were the last times that these six senior’s would play at home. Wiese said that the Cavaliers came at them strong the first night.
“It was a really good match for us to have to work hard for every single point even though we were at home and probably had a little bit of a home advantage with a good crowd,” Wiese said.
The Cavaliers took the first set 30-28 and forced the Charger’s to work from behind. The Charger’s came back strong in the second set though and swept the next three sets 25-16, 25-22, 25-22.
“Coming into this weekend, we all knew that it would be emotional and tough to play, especially for the seniors,” Riley said. “However, the Friday win against Walsh was the match that confirmed our north division title for the G-MAC. We knew we had some work to do, regardless of the emotions.”
The next day the team came out strong in the first set and took the win 25-16. A 19-25 loss in the second set evened the match score, but the Chargers triumphed in the next two sets 25-20 and 25-12 to close out the season with a win.
“I love my team, family, friends, and I think the biggest part of my thought process this weekend was just proving how grateful I am for this program by performing with aggression and staying confident.” Kolp said. “It was sad to know that it was my last game at home, but I am happy knowing I could end my home career with a good win.”
The Chargers finished the regular season 24-6 overall, 16-2 in-conference, and will play their first match of the 2022 Great Midwest Volleyball Championship today at 12 p.m. in Ashland, Ohio.
“Going into this postseason I think we are all ready to show what we have been working on all year and are really excited to play against some of the best teams in Division 2 these next couple of weekends,” Shelton said. “None of us are expecting it to be easy but we are all ready to work as hard as we can to represent our team and school. I am really looking forward to finishing my last few weeks out with these girls and could not have asked for a better team to end my volleyball career with.”