September 25, 2008 - For just the second time in nearly three calendar years, the Hillsdale College volleyball team is coming off a winless weekend in GLIAC play. The Chargers will seek to end that streak with a pair of home matches this weekend against a pair of teams from the Upper Peninsula.

Hillsdale College will host Northern Michigan University starting at 7 p.m. Friday. After the conclusion of Saturday's home football game, everyone is invited to come by the gym to watch the Chargers take on Michigan Tech Univesity for a match that tips off at 6 p.m.

Given its amazing success over the past few years, it's been rare that Hillsdale has gone through a weekend without winning a match, but that's exactly what happened last weekend. Hillsdale lost in five sets at Northwood Friday, and in four sets Saturday at Wayne State. It was just the second weekend since October 2005 that Hillsdale lost both matches in GLIAC play over a single weekend. The loss to Wayne State was the first conference loss on the road in less than five sets since Oct. 22, 2005.

But after a week of intense and sharp practices, the Chargers have put last weekend's losses behind them and are ready to battle a pair of U.P. teams that are talented and tough.

NMU is 8-6 on the season and 3-2 in the GLIAC. The Wildcats have assembled a formidable roster under second-year coach Dominic Yoder. Setter Madeline Ogden is second in the GLIAC in assists per set, with more than 10, and hitters Mandie Meyer and Emma Wolfe form a strong 1-2 punch for the team.

Michigan Tech has twin sister middle hitters that are as good as any combination in the conference. Christa and Jen Jung have anchored the team's defense and offense in the middle for the past few seasons. Jen Jung ranks third in the GLIAC in hitting percentage, behind Charger teammates Emily Bennett (first) and Clara Leutheuser (second).

The Chargers are 5-0 vs. Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech over the past two seasons. NMU was Hillsdale's first-round opponent in the 2006 GLIAC Tournament. None of the five matches have gone further than four sets.

Despite the two losses last weekend, there were some individual highlights for the Chargers. Senior setter Stephanie Booms set season-highs in assists in both matches, getting 47 and 58, respectively. Freshman Ashlee Crowder had a career-high 15 kills vs. Northwood, while sophomore Amanda Bigney had a total of 33 kills in the two matches, including a season-high 20 against Wayne State.

After this weekend, Hillsdale will be home for just one more weekend (Oct. 10-11) before Halloween.