Box Score

The first of many trips to Owensboro, Kentucky ended in a positive fashion for the Hillsdale College volleyball team Friday night.

Led by their two most potent weapons, the Chargers dispatched the Panthers 3-0, improving to 9-3 overall and 2-2 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Hillsdale's longest road trip of the regular season concludes Saturday at Trevecca Nazarene, located in Nashville, Tennessee.

Junior Kara Vyletel was unstoppable in the first set, picking up 7 kills as Hillsdale took a lead with a 25-11 win over KWC. She also had 3 service aces and 4 digs, helping to set the tone for the Chargers in set 1. Vyletel would finish with 15 kills and 12 digs, and had a .406 hitting percentage.

Set 2 was much more closely played, as Kentucky Wesleyan upped its level of play, particularly on defense. The teams sat tied at 22 when junior Paige VanderWall told her teammates "I got this."

VanderWall registered three straight kills to give Hillsdale a 25-22 win in set 2. She had another impressively efficient match, finishing with 12 kills and 7 digs, along with a .478 hitting percentage.

Set 3 also started off close, but Hillsdale eventually pulled away to pick up a 25-17 win to close out the sweep.

Freshman setter Lindsey Mertz directed the offense to a .280 hitting percentage for the match, and handed out 26 assists to go along with 6 digs. Sophomore libero Taylor Wiese led the team with 14 digs, and her defense helped limit the Panthers to a team hitting percentage of .092 in the match.