From left to right: junior Josie TeSlaa, sophomore Marcelina Gorney, senior Amanda Hilliker during a regular season match against Findlay. Courtesy | Austin Thomason

Charger volleyball enters the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional tournament ranked third in the region. This is the Chargers’ seventh-straight NCAA appearance. They will play the Findlay University Oilers on Dec. 5 at 11 a.m. in Big Rapids, MI. 

Last week, the Chargers lost to the Oilers in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference semifinal game. They lost in five sets, 21-25, 25-18, 17-25, 25-21, and 13-15. The Chargers have played the Oilers twice previously this season, winning both games. Their overall season record is 22-4. 

Following the G-MAC tournament, Charger seniors Marilyn Popplewell and Lauren Passaglia were awarded All-Conference first team honors. Seniors Maizie Brown and Amanda Hilliker received second team honors.

Head coach Chris Gravel said the team played decently in their semifinal appearance, but a few minor mistakes cost them a significant amount of points.

“We had a lot of miscommunications, and that cost us maybe half a dozen points,” Gravel said. “We lost by just a couple points.”

Freshman Ellie Fles said the loss against Findlay was a good reminder for the Chargers going into the NCAA tournament, and that they will use it to motivate themselves. 

“Losing stings, but after the game against Findlay we all deeply felt the loss,” Fles said. “It was a good reminder that everybody wants to win, but it’s about the discipline and mental control that gets us there.”

Gravel said he is switching his defense around for the upcoming game against Findlay. 

“We’re mostly looking for consistency,” Gravel said. “We’re just switching different defenses and different play calls.”

Redshirt sophomore Chloe Pierce said the team is looking forward to facing Findlay again and improving on their last meeting.

“We are all super fired up to get another chance at Findlay,” she said. “We’ve been really focusing on playing clean, providing productive feedback in team huddles, and serving tough to get the other teams out of their system.”

Since their first appearance in 2004, the Chargers have gone 15-15 in their NCAA tournament appearances.

If the Chargers win their game against the Oilers, they will advance to the next stage and face either the Grand Valley State University Lakers or the Quincy University Hawks on Dec. 6 at 4 p.m. 

“The game is always filled with mistakes,” Gravel said. “Our ability to recover from those mistakes is what makes us one of the best teams.”