ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – In thrilling back-and-forth action, No. 2 seed and Great Midwest Athletic Conference champion Hillsdale acquitted itself well with a quarterfinal win against UIndy in the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional on Thursday.
 
The Chargers held off the No. 7 seeded Greyhounds in five sets, winning by a final count of 3-2 on the campus of Lewis University, 13-25, 26-24, 25-16, 17-25, 15-13.
 
Hillsdale will now face No. 6 seed Michigan Tech after the Huskies upset No. 3 seed Missouri-St. Louis to start regional action today.
 
The three-time conference regular season and tournament champion Chargers will play tomorrow at 6 p.m. ET in the regional semis.
 
Great Midwest Player of the Year and first team all-region middle Allyssa Van Wienen led the way with 16 kills while also stepping up defensively with 10 blocks for the double-double.
 
Sophomore all-conference and all-region outside Karoline Shelton added 14 kills and another sophomore, Maggie DePorre, contributed eight kills.
 
Senior libero Taylor Wiese was outstanding, controlling the tempo of the match with her serve and covering the court with her defensive specialist instincts. The all-conference and all-region performer came through with 40 digs and four service aces.
 
Her 40 digs is the most in the conference by any player this season and is tied for the third most in a match in league history. Two other players also had 40 – Shelby Sorce (Trevecca Nazarene) and Angela Becker (Cedarville).
 
Junior setter Lindsey Mertz led the passing game with 44 assists.
 
Hillsdale improved to 27-3 overall on the season moving into the second round of the Midwest Regional.

The Chargers moved past the opening round for the first time as a Great Midwest member after facing Findlay in 2017 and Drury in 2018 with tough first-round outcomes. 
 
No. 1 seed and region host Lewis will face No. 5 Rockhurst in the other half of the bracket. The winners would play on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.