ROMEOVILLE, Ill. – No team in Great Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball history has advanced as far as Hillsdale as the Chargers fell in the NCAA Championship Midwest Region final on Saturday night.
 
The second-seeded Chargers were swept in Neil Carey Arena on the campus of Lewis University by No. 5 seed Rockhurst in the round of 16, 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-17).
 
After defeating No. 7 UIndy in the quarterfinals and No. 6 Michigan Tech in the semifinals, Hillsdale finished a terrific 2019 season with an overall record of 28-4.
 
The outcome halted a great postseason run by Hillsdale after the Chargers rolled to their third consecutive conference championship crown.
 
HC carried a 12-match win streak into the regional final and the program will have plenty to be proud of when reflecting back on this team’s accomplishments under head coach Chris Gravel.
 
If there was any kind of indication how the match may play out, it was an Oct. 13 matchup against Rockhurst in the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament as the Chargers swept the Hawks in straight sets.
 
The Hawks dangerous trio of Mary Rolf in the middle flanked by Alyssa Woodman and Karli Reichert, helped their team hit .341, including .514 in the third and final set.
 
Hillsdale still had three players named to the Midwest Region All-Tournament Team with junior MH Allyssa Van Wienen, senior DS/L Taylor Wiese and sophomore OH Karoline Shelton.
 
Van Wienen, the league’s player of the year and all-region team selection, hit .519 in the match with 16 kills on 27 swings.
 
Rockhurst achieved redemption by executing its game plan at a high level and was just a very dangerous draw after ousting top seed Lewis in the semifinals. RU also pulled an opening-round upset by taking down No. 4 Ferris State.
 
Rockhurst advanced to the final round of eight teams remaining in the NCAA Championship bracket out in Denver that will be hosted by Metro State.