October 7, 2009 - This weekend, the Hillsdale College volleyball team will make its second trip to the Upper Peninisula in three weeks, after going almost four years without crossing the bridge.

But before the Chargers get to Saturday's match at Lake Superior State, the team will take on Saginaw Valley State University in a clash of the team's with the best conference records so far this season. Friday's match starts at 7 p.m., and Saturday's contest tips off at 2 p.m.

Hillsdale (14-3 overall, 7-2 GLIAC) sits in first place in the GLIAC South Division, one game ahead of Wayne State. Friday night, the Chargers will take on Saginaw Valley State, who also has a 7-2 conference record.

The winner of that match will have an inside track on finishing the regular season with the best overall conference record, and the chance to host the GLIAC Tournament. After this weekend's competition, Hillsdale has five conference matches remaining, all against South Division teams, while SVSU has to play each of its North Division rivals one more time.

The Cardinals defeated the Chargers 3-0 in last year's meeting, though the three sets couldn't have been played much closer. The second set, a 36-34 marathon, was won by SVSU by two points, as the other two sets were in that match. It was the Cardinals' first win over the Chargers since Oct. 9, 1998.

Saginaw Valley State has been a rapidly ascending program in the GLIAC over the past two seasons. The Cardinals advanced to the GLIAC Tournament Championship match as well as the Midwest Regional Championship match in 2008, losing to Grand Valley State on both occasions. The Cardinals feature a team that's big and hard-hitting, and one that plays with a lot of confidence.

This season, SVSU's two losses have come to teams the Chargers have beaten, Michigan Tech and Grand Valley State. Both of those teams beat the Cardinals by 3-0 scores. However, four of those six sets were decided by three points or less.

On the other side, Saginaw Valley has defeated both teams in the GLIAC that beat Hillsdale, Northern Michigan and Ferris State.

The Chargers' last match was a loss that stung, 3-1 to the Bulldogs at home. Hillsdale was coming off an outstanding effort in a 3-1 win over Grand Valley State Oct. 2, but the team was unable to duplicate that effort against a Ferris State team that played outstanding volleyball in beating the Chargers.

Hillsdale sits just outside the national rankings for the second week in a row. The team is second among the "others receiving votes" group of teams outside the AVCA Division II Top 25 rankings. No GLIAC school is in the top 25, though Hillsdale, Wayne State, Saginaw Valley State, Ferris State and Grand Valley State are all within striking distance of the top 25.

This weekend also marks Hillsdale's first match in Sault Ste. Marie vs. the Lakers since the 2005 season. That was also the last time LSSU won a set from Hillsdale, losing to the Chargers 3-2. Since then, Hillsdale has defeated Lake Superior State 3-0 three consectutive meetings.