HILLSDALE, Mich. – The Great Midwest Athletic Conference Volleyball Championship finalists were determined on Friday as No. 1 Hillsdale and No. 2 Tiffin both emerged out of the semifinal round.
The automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional is on the line Saturday in the championship finale with a 5 p.m. ET start time from Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.
Hillsdale is aiming for a three peat in the tournament format after winning the 2017 and 2018 conference titles. The Chargers defeated No. 4 seed Kentucky Wesleyan in the first matchup, 3-0.
Kentucky Wesleyan was making its first semifinal appearance since 2014 when the conference tourney was held at Cedarville. The Panthers had defeated Cedarville on Tuesday in the quarterfinals to advance into the final four.
Give credit to KWC in the second as the Panthers battled to a 16-16 tie. A 6-1 run really allowed the Chargers to pull away and grab a 2-0 lead in the match.
Hillsdale was just too strong up front as Karoline Shelton and Emily Lachmann combined for 21 kills as the Chargers hit .243, including .481 in the final set. Freshman Megan Kolp had five kills, five block assists and a dig up front.
Recently-crowned Great Midwest Player of the Year Allyssa Van Wienen had 16 attack attempts but delivered when her name was called upon. The junior middle hit .438 with kills and had her team’s only solo blocks.
Hillsdale is ranked No. 11 in the AVCA rankings and No. 2 in the Midwest Region by the NCAA national committee. The Chargers are 25-3. Kentucky Wesleyan concluded its postseason run and 2019 season with a 16-12 overall record.
In the nightcap, No. 2 Tiffin and No. 3 Walsh exchanged blows very early and there was not a lot of separation from either side as they took turns dominating the first two sets, respectively.
These two teams met in their regular-season matchup towards the tail end of the conference schedule, a 3-0 Tiffin win. Tiffin had advanced into the semis by defeating No. 7 Findlay and Walsh was able to get by No. 6 Trevecca Nazarene in five sets on Tuesday.
Tiffin was able to pull away as this one wore on, getting big-time contributions from its all-conference performs. Senior Jenna Huffman had 20 kills and 15 digs, finishing the night with the match’s final point. Sophomore Sam Fallis has enjoyed a whirlwind of the past two weeks as player of the week, all-conference team (2nd) and Friday’s effort.
Fallis came through with 31 digs, two shy of her season-best total and the sophomore just got to countless balls powered at the net by Walsh heavy hitters Lauren Loucks, Hallie Schroeder and Justine Coffman, all first team all-conference picks by the coaches.
Setter Loryn Huffman had a very impressive 46 assists, 20-dig double-double and Grace Schreiber gave Tiffin a lift at key moments with a dozen kills and three service aces.