Fifth-year libero Chloe Pierce reached an important career milestone on Friday as the Hillsdale College volleyball team split two matches against tough opponents at the Midwest Regional Crossover in Hammond, Indiana.

With 39 digs in the two matches, Pierce became just the 13th Charger in program history to surpass 1,000 digs for her career, joining an impressive list of former Hillsdale College defensive specialists to achieve that feat.

The Chargers opened the day with a stirring and hard-fought five set upset of GLVC foe Drury. At 14-4, the Panthers came in as one of the top teams in the GLVC, but were brought down by Hillsdale in a thrilling, back-and-forth match.

There were major momentum swings between the Chargers and Panthers in the contest, as both teams built and lost big leads in nearly every set.

Drury looked to be in control in set one, with a massive 17-2 run to build a seemingly unassailable lead. Hillsdale had other ideas, however, battling back from a 20-10 deficit with big kills from Taylor Brownsword and Taylor Cook to tie the set at 24, before pulling out the set 27-25 with back-to-back aces by Ellie Fles sealing the deal. The Chargers fought off an amazing seven set points to take the win.

 Hillsdale nearly pulled off another dramatic comeback in set two, but Drury held on for a 25-22 victory to even up the match at one set apiece. A come-from-behind 25-23 win in set three gave Drury a 2-1 edge, and put the Chargers on the brink. 

For the rest of the match, however, Hillsdale was in control. The Chargers rolled to a 25-16 set four victory behind a .379 hitting percentage and 13 Panthers attack errors. In the deciding set five, Hillsdale's efficiency again proved decisive, with 11 kills and a .364 hitting percentage to Drury's seven kills and .208 hitting percentage in a 15-11 victory to clinch the upset.

Hillsdale was impressive offensively in the win with a .306 hitting percentage. Freshman Taylor Brownsword led the way with 20 kills and seven digs, becoming the first Charger with back-to-back 20-plus kill matches since All-American Paige VanderWall in 2018. Sophomore Taylor Cook added 18 kills on .455 hitting, and Ellie Fles chipped in 15 kills, four service aces and four total blocks. Marcelina Gorny added nine kills and Molly Kennedy chipped in eight kills and four total blocks as well.

Madison Peal chipped in 22 digs defensively, Chloe Pierce added 21 and Hannah Baker finished with 13. Grace Drake posted a career-best 57 assists and also added 11 digs and three total blocks as well.

In the nightcap, Hillsdale was unable to slow down the top team in the nation, as undefeated Ferris State overpowered the Chargers in three sets, 25-11, 25-22, 25-19, to force a split for Hillsdale in day one.

Ferris outhit Hillsdale .264 to .054, seizing control early in the match with a dominant set one. While Hillsdale put up a tougher fight in sets two and three, it wasn't enough to take down the Bulldogs.

 Brownsword again led the Chargers in kills with 11, while Ellie Fles chipped in nine kills, nine digs and three total blocks. 

Pierce led Hillsdale defensively with 18 digs, surpassing 1,000 for her career in the match against Ferris State, and Drake recorded 20 assists and five digs as well for the Chargers.

Hillsdale is now 10-10 overall, 5-4 in G-MAC play and will finish the Midwest Regional Crossover tomorrow, Saturday, against an opponent and at a time still to be determined. Check hillsdalechargers.com for more information later on in the night.