NCAA Championship Bracket
BIG RAPIDS, Mich. – For the first time in Great Midwest Athletic Conference history in the sport of volleyball, a Midwest Region title from the NCAA Division II Championship bracket was earned as No. 3 seed Hillsdale defeated top seed Ferris State on Saturday, 3-1.
The Chargers won the NCAA third-round contest by set scores of 22-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-16.
Hillsdale is just one of eight teams remaining from the original field of 64 and will be making travel arrangements to head to Tampa, Fla., for the quarterfinals on Thursday, Dec. 9. The national committee will be reseeding all teams advancing into the Elite Eight before finalizing the schedule to be played at the Bob Martinez Center.
The Chargers did their part by taking out a No. 1 seed and for the most part, the bracket is busted from upsets galore with top seeds from the Atlantic Region, South Region, Central Region, Midwest Region, East Region and West Region, all knocked out of contention.
Hillsdale defeated its third consecutive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) in the region bracket and came out on top against an opponent for an upset in terms of seeding for the second straight time.
The Chargers have penned their own storied history since joining the league in 2017 while earning five consecutive conference titles in every opportunity available to the program. Their opening-round win vs. No. 6 Grand Valley State on Thursday set up a heavyweight battle vs. No. 2 Michigan Tech on Friday as the Chargers emerged victorious in five sets.
The Chargers had sweet redemption against both Michigan Tech and Ferris State in the national tournament after falling to both GLIAC programs in the regular season. Hillsdale had to overcome the home crowd with Bulldogs’ fans inside Jim Wink Arena to get win No. 30 on the season and push its win streak to 10 straight.
Opening the fall season at Ferris State was as good of a test that head coach Chris Gravel and his team could have expected outside of the conference schedule. The Chargers faced Midwest Region semifinalist No. 5 UMSL and No. 4 Central seed Winona State in addition to two other strong programs in Saint Leo and Oklahoma Baptist.
Hillsdale also achieved the outcome it so badly wanted in 2019 when in the same position competing for that elusive regional title against Rockhurst.
Hillsdale was progressively dominant in their third match in as many days. The hitting percentage by set was a telling tale as the Chargers incrementally went from .118 to .200 to .316 and .400, to solves Ferris State’s defense.
Freshman MB/OH Marilyn Popplewell’s eye-opening breakthrough performance in the postseason continued as she led all players with 18 kills. OH Karoline Shelton and MB Allyssa Van Wienen each provided their offensive punch by combining for 31 kills.
Three different Chargers posted 20+ digs in the winning effort led by 26 from Alli Wiese. Shelton added 22 digs for another double-double and Madie Schider contributed 21. Hillsdale’s service game was also on point with 10 service aces as Wiese had three of those.
In an NCAA Championship bracket format in Great Midwest history, Ohio Valley was also able to win a Midwest Region men’s soccer title during a memorable postseason run in the 2018 season.