Junior Lauren Passaglia had four kills against Thomas More University. Courtesy | Isabella Sheehan

The Hillsdale volleyball team took its tenth straight match over its new G-MAC rival, the Thomas More University Saints in the Sept. 23 homecoming game, giving the Chargers back-to-back matches without losing a single set. 

After taking the first set 25-19, the Chargers went down 7-1 to begin the second set. But Hillsdale went on a 7-point winning streak, taking back the lead. The Chargers held the lead in the first set until the Saints tied it at 22 points, but junior Lauren Passaglia and freshman Greta Wise sealed the set for the team with a kill each. 

The Chargers went on to win the third set with more ease, only allowing Thomas More to score 15 points in the set, and securing a Hillsdale victory. 

“We enjoyed playing at home for homecoming in front of a record-setting crowd of 963 fans,” assistant coach Allyssa Van Wienen said. “That was a crowd players dream about playing in front of. One of the things we have been working on this season is ‘star plays.’ You earn a star play when you make a great play after an error, so the emphasis is on getting back to our high level of play as soon as possible.”

Senior Maizie Brown led the Chargers offensively, and she finished the day with seven kills and two blocks, despite playing in just two of the three sets. Brown’s is second in the G-MAC with a hitting percentage of .394, right below Northwood University’s Sydney Hasenfratz at .462. 

Junior Marilyn Popplewell and sophomore Emory Braswell also contributed offensively for the Chargers with six kills each. Braswell had an additional eight digs during the match. Junior libero Alli Wiese had 23 digs of her own, leading the Chargers on the day and ranking her third in career digs for the Chargers with 1,882, while her sister, Taylor ’19, maintains the all-time record of 2,251 career digs. 

“I am just so excited about the turnout last week for our games,” Wiese said. “The support the SAB and the entire school showed to our team meant so much.” 

Saturday’s win pushed the Chargers to 11-2, preserving their flawless 5-0 conference record. They will face four different conference rivals to end the regular season before the conference tournament, beginning with the Lake Erie College Storm Sept. 29 and the Ursuline College Arrows Sept. 30. The Chargers and the Walsh University Cavaliers remain the only undefeated teams in conference play at this point, and will have a chance to compete for first place in the North Division at Walsh Oct. 1.