October 10, 2008 - The Hillsdale College volleyball team returned to its winning ways Friday night.

Playing outstanding volleyball in the second and third sets, the Chargers defeated Lake Superior State University 3-0 at Jesse Philips Arena. The win snaps Hillsdale's three-match losing skid and puts the team at 13-7 overall and 5-5 in the GLIAC. Hillsdale will host Sagianw Valley State University at 2 p.m. Saturday at home.

The win was the 250th in the coaching career of Hillsdale College head coach Chris Gravel. An indication of the incredible success he's led the Chargers to over the past few years is that Gravel's 200th coaching win was just over two calendar years ago, taking place on Sept. 30, 2006.

Hillsdale got better as Friday's match went on, escaping the first set with a 26-24 win. The Chargers held a 23-19 lead, but nearly lost the lead to the Lakers. LSSU tied the set 24-24, but the Chargers came through in crunch time. A kill by freshman Ashlee Crowder gave Hillsdale a 25-24 lead, and an attack error by the Lakers clinched the set one win for Hillsdale.

LSSU jumped out to a 10-5 lead in the second set, as the Chargers continued to struggle with their passing and court coverage. But the Chargers righted the ship quickly, going on an 8-2 run to take a 13-12 lead, a lead it would never lose again the rest of the night.

Junior Kittrick Smith was at the center of that 8-2 run, getting back-to-back kills and setting a personal tone for the rest of the night. Smith was unstoppable, leading Hillsdale with 12 kills to go along with three digs, three service aces and a .360 hitting percentage. She got outstanding approaches on sets coming from Apryl Schmucker and Stephanie Booms, and powered her attacks through the LSSU block.

Hillsdale finished the second set on a 20-6 run to close out the Lakers, 25-16. Hillsdale hit .536 in the second set, a season-high for hitting percentage in a single set. Six of Smith's 12 kills came in that second set.

The momentum Hillsdale built in the second set carried directly over to the third set, as the Chargers jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Smith served nine of those 10 points, and sophomore Amanda Bigney was extremely productive during the run, getting three kills and two digs during the 10-0 start to the set.

Junior Emily Bennett was her usual efficient self, getting nine kills with a .471 attack percentage. Freshman Clara Leutheuser had five kills, no errors and one solo block to go along with three block assists. Bigney had five kills in the third set, and sophomore Sydney Dow led Hillsdale with 16 digs.

Senior setter Stephanie Booms also played well, getting 11 digs, 33 assists and four kills. Schmucker, seeing her most extended playing time in a few weeks, had two kills, six assists, four digs and one service errors.

Click on the link below for the box score from the match.

Box score