December 15, 2008 - Hillsdale College head volleyball coach Chris Gravel is pleased to announce the addition of two student-athletes to the Chargers’ program starting with the 2009 season. These two incoming freshmen have signed national letters of intent to play for Hillsdale starting next year.

Joining Hillsdale next year are 5-foot-11 outside hitter Kaleigh Shuster from Wayland (Mich.) High School, and 6-foot-2 middle hitter Lauren Grover of Olentangy (Ohio) High School.

Shuster is one of the finest student-athletes at her high school, having compiled a 3.98 overall grade point average in addition to a long list of athletic accomplishments while at Wayland High School.

In 2008, Shuster set school records for kills (684) and total blocks (138). She also hit an amazing .650 for the season, and had 79 service aces and 387 digs. She has the talent to play "all the way around," a valuable skill in any offense.

She was named First-Team All-Area, All-Conference and All-County as a junior in 2007. She had 521 kills, 91 total blocks and 53 service aces that season. She was named the team’s best offensive player also.

Shuster is also a standout on the school’s basketball team, having been named First-Team All-Conference, First-Team All-County and Second-Team All-Area in 2007-08. She led the team in free throw percentage, and was also a two-year starter for the school’s soccer team.

Shuster was named the school’s Athlete of the Month in December 2007 and the school’s Athlete of the Week in March 2008. Away from the court, Shuster has been a four-year member of the student council, been a volunteer at Project Hope, and plays the cello in the school’s orchestra. She’s also worked as a volunteer at Wayland-area volleyball clinics.

On the club scene, Shuster played for the Michigan Volleyball Academy in 2008 under coaches Kyle Stahl and Chip Will. In 2006 and 2007, she played for the FarOut club, and helped lead that team to a combined record of 31-3 in those two club seasons. She has a standing vertical jump of 9 feet, 3 inches, and has a block jump of 8 feet, 11 inches.

Shuster’s father Jim played basketball at Hillsdale College from 1981-85.

Grover comes to Hillsdale by way of Olentangy High School in Lewis Center, Ohio. A resident of Columbus, Ohio, Grover is a powerful middle hitter.

Her high school team didn’t lose a single set at home in the entire 2008 regular season, and Olentangy has won multiple conference and district championships during her career. In addition to her highlight-filled team accomplishments, Grover has filled her trophy case with several individual awards as well. She’s been named team MVP, First-Team All-Conference three times and First-Team All-District three times. In 2007, she earned honorable mention All-State honors.

She also earned four letters in basketball, and has been named one of the school’s scholar athletes. She played her club volleyball for Club M m.81 under coach Mike Carter. She has a cumulative high school grade point average of 3.5.

She has also been a member of the Service Club, DECA, an area youth group and has volunteered at the Worthington Christian Retirement Center.

Shuster and Grover will join one of the most successful programs in the GLIAC over the past few years. Hillsdale has won at least 19 matches in five straight seasons, and has qualified for the NCAA Regional Tournament in four of those years. The Chargers have had a First-Team All-Region player in four of the past five years, and won the GLIAC South Division title in two of the past three seasons.