The Chargers’ volleyball games have grown longer and less predictable as the season progresses.
The first five matches of the season were 3-0 wins for the Chargers, but last Saturday, they sparred with Saginaw Valley State University for five sets emerging on top, 3-2. They won their match against Wayne State University on Friday, but not without a decisive fourth set.
Saturday’s game against SVSU was a knock-down-drag-out match after the Cardinals trounced the Chargers in the first set 25-12.
“The first set was awful. We struggled to get into the double-digits,” senior Kat Vael said.
But the Chargers came back invigorated in the second set and picked up a win, 25-23.
For the third set, Hillsdale fought tenaciously and revealed just how evenly the teams were matched. The volley for their eighth point lasted for as many hits over the net.
Sophomore Erin Holsinger sent the ball sailing to the Cardinals’ back row with an athletic jump-serve. The Cardinals’ attempted an attack but were shut down by Charger blockers senior Lindsay Kostrzewa and junior Jordan Denmark. They rebounded with a pass over the net; junior and setter Marissa Owen tried a surprise tip, and so did the Cardinals, but to no avail. Both sides then attempted the standard three-hit kill twice before Denmark finished with a searing hit to the undefended back left corner of the court.
The final points of the game went much more quickly, though neither team had a clear advantage. At the Chargers’ 24th point, it became a point-by-point match, all the way to an astonishing 32-30 win for the Cardinals.
“I think we did a great job fighting back when we were down,” Owen said. “However, I think all of us are disappointed with how we performed. It was definitely not our best.”
The fourth and fifth sets were like déjà vu, the Chargers forcing the Cardinals to scores of 30-28, and 16-14 for the win.
Junior Haylee Booms made a career and team-high 16 kills, and sophomore Erin Holsinger matched her career-high with 15 kills. Owen also made a career and team-high with 52 assists and 17 digs. Freshman and libero Brittany Jandasek tied Owen for digs. Kostrzewa had one solo block and four block assists.
“When both teams were at their best, I felt like we were at a slight advantage,” coach Chris Gravel said. “SVSU stayed pretty consistent throughout the match, especially their libero. They never allowed us to get a big lead. Despite the loss, I was happy with the overall fight we demonstrated.”
On Friday, the Chargers cleanly defeated the Wayne State Warriors in their first match 25-14. But in the second match, the tables turned nearly precisely enough to secure the Warriors an identical victory over the Chargers— just two points off at 25-16.
Though the Chargers walked away with a 3-1 win, Friday’s refs called 14 ball handling errors by night’s end for the Chargers and the Warriors. By comparison, only 31 ball handling errors were called in the Chargers’ 11 previous matches.
Despite the errors, powerhouse offensive juniors Emily Wolfert and Denmark showed their versatility— Wolfert with a career-high 19 digs and a team-second of 9 kills, and Denmark with a team-second of 14 digs and a team-high of 10 kills.
The Chargers will work in practice this week to repair the cracks in their game and prepare for what Owen calls “a big weekend.”
“Practice will be hard this week,” Vael said.
The Chargers play two games at home this weekend: Grand Valley State University at 7 p.m. on Friday and Ferris State University at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
