Box Score

Friday night's GLIAC volleyball match between Hillsdale College and Saginaw Valley State University followed an all-too familiar, and frustrating pattern for the Chargers.

Hillsdale played well in stretches, and got a terrific performance from one of its promising freshmen. But close sets just didn't go the home team's way in a 3-1 loss to the Cardinals at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena. The loss leaves the Chargers at 13-9 on the season and 5-6 in the GLIAC.

SVSU took the first set 25-22, a margin just one point above the minimum. Hillsdale rallied impressively in set 2, playing well in all facets of the game in securing a 25-18 victory.

However, the Cardinals used a late rally in set 3 to pull out a 25-23 win, and won set 4 25-22, a set that featured a ton of unlikely defensive and offensive plays by both teams.

A revelation for the Chargers was the play of freshman middle hitter Hannah Gates, who put together by far, the finest performance of her young career. She started set 2 and made a big impact for Hillsdale, finishing with 6 kills, 1 solo block and 7 block assists, easily achieving career-highs in kills and block assists.

The set 3 loss was particularly tough for Hillsdale to swallow. The Chargers maintained the lead through most of the set, and held a 22-17 advantage late in the set after a service ace by senior Erin Holsinger. But the Cardinals finished out on an 8-1 run, which included a rally from a 23-22 deficit to pull ahead in the match 2-1. Cardinals middle hitter Kaylee Schmitt was outstanding all night, and had the final three kills of set 3 for SVSU.

The third set loss was also disheartening for Hillsdale on the stat sheet. The Chargers outhit the Cardinals .170 to .115 in the set, a margin that usually spells victory for a team with that kind of attack percentage edge.

Sophomore Kara Vyletel led the Hillsdale attack with 14 kills. Holsinger started the match strong and had stretches of dominance with 12 kills. Sophomore Paige VanderWall and junior Jackie Langer each had 8 kills.

Sophomore Taylor Bennett contributed 42 assists and was active defensively with 14 digs. Freshman Taylor Wiese matched Bennett's digs total to lead the team, while Langer had 12 digs.

UP NEXT: Hillsdale plays its final home match of the season Saturday at 2 p.m. versus Lake Superior State.

PHOTO CREDIT: Greg Vyletel