The Hillsdale College volleyball team kicked off the 2026 season in style with an impressive come-from-behind win over a strong Indiana University of Pennsylvania squad in their first match at the WSU Warrior Invitational on Friday afternoon.

Hillsdale was thoroughly outplayed in the first set by the experienced Crimson Hawks, who reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last year and returned three AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans from that squad. But after taking a 25-16 first set loss, Hillsdale adjusted and turned the tables on IUP, rolling to easy 25-15, 25-14 victories to take a two sets to one advantage.

Key to Hillsdale's turnaround was a lethally efficient offense, as the Chargers hit .453 in sets two and three with 26 kills and just two attack errors to seize control of the match from the Crimson Hawks.

The deciding fourth set was tight as IUP stepped up its game offensively, while Hillsdale managed just seven kills in the set. Once again, though, the Chargers' efficient play carried the day, as the Chargers punished Crimson Hawk miscues at the net (eight attack errors) and at the service line (seven service errors) in the set with clutch play to rally from an 18-15 deficit and secure the match with a 25-23 victory. 

Two big blocks late in the fourth set, one from junior Ellie Fles and freshman Taylor Brownsword to help crawl out of that 18-15 deficit, and another from sophomore Grace Drake and freshman Ella Vandermark for the deciding point, loomed large in the victory.

Hillsdale finished with just 43 kills to IUP's 55, but outhit the Crimson Hawks .268 to .243 thanks to nine fewer attack errors. The Chargers also built up decisive edges in aces (11 for Hillsdale to five for IUP), blocks (nine to IUP's four) and service errors (four to IUP's 13) that gave Hillsdale a massive advantage on the margin of the match.

Ellie Fles led a balanced offensive attack for the Chargers with 12 kills, nine digs, four total blocks and two aces, while fellow junior Caroline Lanicek added 11 kills on .391 hitting and three total blocks as well. Two freshmen had strong debut matches for the Chargers, as Taylor Brownsword finished with nine kills, and Ella Vandermark chipped in seven kills and a team high three aces.

Sophomore Grace Drake had a solid match directing the offense for the Chargers, finishing with 36 assists and 10 digs, while Chloe Pierce led the Chargers defense with 12 digs and two service aces as well. Ella Byrum also finished with seven digs and two aces for Hillsdale.

Hillsdale is now 1-0 on the season and will play again on Friday at 7 p.m., with another tough match against a 2025 NCAA Tournament qualifier on tap in Warrior Invite host Wayne State.