AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll (Week 1)


INDIANAPOLIS – Fresh off of a weekend that included a 3-1 record with a pair of nationally-ranked opponents, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) recognized Hillsdale among the best with its new weekly poll.
 
The first AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll of the season placed Hillsdale at No. 19 in Division II. The Chargers (3-1, 0-0) had received a handful of votes in the AVCA Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
Hillsdale went to the Terrace Hotel Classic in Lakeland, Fla., a tournament that was nearly canceled because of the weather conditions stemming from Hurricane Dorian.
 
The Chargers made the most of their trip to the Sunshine State, beating fifth-ranked Concordia-St. Paul in five sets, tournament host Florida Southern College and Indiana (PA).
 
Hillsdale’s bid for a perfect weekend fell just shy vs. No. 17 Central Missouri, which vaulted all the way up to No. 12 in the updated poll. The Chargers battled UCM to a five-set finish that went down to the wire.
 
Even more impressive for Hillsdale’s opening weekend – it was the first game action without the services of two-time Great Midwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year Paige VanderWall. VanderWall was also voted the league’s top female athlete of the year in 2018-19 following a vote by the administrators.
 
The Chargers were also missing a key piece of the puzzle with all-conference defensive specialist/libero Taylor Wiese sidelined from a stress fracture.
 
There has been no doubt Wiese is extremely vital to the team’s success which includes back-to-back Great Midwest championship runs and NCAA Championship bids.
 
Junior middle and two-time all-conference performer Allyssa Van Wienen put up numbers worth of the first Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Week award. She hammered home 21 kills vs. Concordia St.-Paul and also posted impressive blocking totals.
 
Van Wienen averaged 3.41 kills per set in the first four matches of the season.
 
Credit is also due to junior defensive specliaist Madie Schider, who stepped up in Wiese’s absence by averaging 4.65 digs per set.