What a difference a day can make.
Less than 24 hours after the Hillsdale College volleyball team had suffered one of its most dispiriting losses of the 2025 campaign in a five-set heartbreaker at Tiffin, the Chargers turned around and pulled one of the biggest upsets in the G-MAC to close out the regular season, stunning G-MAC North Division Champion and the 25th-ranked team in NCAA DII, Findlay, on its home court in five sets.
Hillsdale got it done thanks to an early blitzkrieg in the first two sets that caught the heavily-favored Oilers off guard and showed that the Chargers were a real threat to win. Thanks in part to five kills from
Ellie Fles, the Chargers overpowered Findlay in a 25-17 set one win, and then, as if to prove that result wasn't a fluke, Hillsdale dominated set two by an even wider margin, leading almost wire-to-wire in a 25-16 win to go up two sets to none.
Findlay battled back to even in a pair of 25-21 wins in the third and fourth sets, but those early victories meant the pressure was firmly on the Oilers in the final three sets. In set five, Findlay cracked, falling behind 8-2 on a dream start by the Chargers that included two blocks and also back-to-back kills from
Caroline Lanicek. Findlay refused to go quietly, reeling off a 6-0 run to cut Hillsdale's lead to 11-10, but the Chargers stayed composed, scoring four of the final six points on two kills by Fles and a kill each from
Grace Drake and
Jenna Southland to take the set 15-12, and secure a shocking upset.
Fles had unarguably the best match of her career to help Hillsdale take the win, tying her career high in kills with 21 while hitting a scorching .463 for the match and also contributing seven digs and five total blocks. Drake also was sensational, with a 13 kill, 16 assists, 10 dig triple-double in the victory, and senior
Adi Sysum added 10 kills on .471 hitting and six total blocks as well.
Chloe Pierce led Hillsdale defensively with 21 digs and three aces and
Emory Braswell chipped in 13 digs as well for Hillsdale.
Josie TeSlaa led the Chargers in assists with 34 and also contributed nine digs and two aces.
Hillsdale hit a stunning .316 against the Oilers, nearly matching Findlay in kills with 10 fewer attack errors to secure the victory.
The Chargers finish the regular season 13-11 overall, 11-4 in the G-MAC, and have plenty of momentum as Hillsdale looks to make a run in the G-MAC Tournament next week. Hillsdale will be a dangerous five-seed in the tourney and begins its run on Tuesday with a trip to fourth-seeded Walsh for a 6 p.m. quarterfinal match. While the Cavaliers are the higher seed, Hillsdale has the head-to-head victory on the season over Walsh. The winner of the match would advance to the semifinal round on Friday, which will be played at the highest remaining seed in the tournament after the Tuesday quarterfinal round.
