The Hillsdale College volleyball team took a frustrating loss on the road on Saturday afternoon, as Hillsdale outhit host Tiffin but couldn't close out sets in a 3-1 loss to the Dragons.
The Chargers hit .227 to Tiffin's .146 with 12 fewer attack errors, looking especially dominant in a 25-12 set three victory to extend the match. Hillsdale hit .433 in that victory, but when things got tighter in the other three sets, the Chargers struggled to finish.
Hillsdale led 16-14 in set one but conceded an 8-2 run that included three attack errors and a service error to give the Dragons control. Trailing 22-18, Hillsdale fought back to within a point of the lead three separate times but couldn't string together a run to pull ahead in a 25-23 defeat.
Set two was the same script for the Chargers, who led for much of the set and by as much as 13-8 early. With the set tied at 20-apiece, Hillsdale gave up a 3-0 run to the Dragons that included two untimely attack errors. The Chargers got back to 23-22, but ended up falling 25-22 to get behind 2-0.
After Hillsdale dominated in set three, set four was back and forth. The Chargers fought off three match points and, at 27-26, had a chance to force a fifth set, but a 3-0 run by the Dragons ended Hillsdale's hopes of a comeback.
Ellie Fles hit .625 with 11 kills and three total blocks to lead the Chargers offensively, while
Hannah Baker chipped in eight kills and 11 digs and
Ivy Rex added eight kills as well.
Taylor Brownsword also had seven kills for the Chargers and
Taylor Cook and
Caroline Lanicek each chipped in six.
Chloe Pierce led Hillsdale defensively with 24 digs,
Ella Byrum chipped in 13 and
Madison Peal added 11 as well.
Grace Drake dished out 37 assists for Hillsdale at setter and chipped in four kills, two service aces and nine digs as well.
Hillsdale is now 8-8 overall, 4-4 in the G-MAC with the loss. The Chargers will need to rebound quickly with another week of tough road matches ahead, as Hillsdale travels to the 16th ranked team in the nation, Grand Valley State, for a difficult non-conference match at 1 p.m. on Friday before taking on in-state rival Northwood in an important G-MAC clash the following day.
