November 7, 2009 - Now that the regular season is over, the Hillsdale College volleyball team can move forward with the business of the postseason.

The Chargers capped the 2009 campaign as GLIAC South Division champions after a 3-2 win over Northwood University in Midland Saturday afternoon.

Hillsdale is 20-7 overall and finishes 12-4 in GLIAC play. The Chargers will host Ferris State University in the first round of the 2009 GLIAC Tournament at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

If Hillsdale wins that match, the Chargers will host the tournament semifinals and finals, scheduled for Nov. 14-15.

In a match that was somewhat indicative of the entire season, the Chargers got off to a strong start, struggled in the middle sets, but put together an excellent effort in the fifth set to earn a tough win on the road.

Hillsdale won the first set with realtive ease, 25-16. But the Timberwolves came back to pick up wins by scores of 25-18 and 25-23 in the second and fourth sets. The Chargers captured the win with a 15-9 fifth-set victory.

Hillsdale's defense forced Northwood into just two kills and five errors in the decisive fifth set. The front line of that defense was represented by the blocking, where the Chargers were dominant from start to finish.

Sophomore Clara Leutheuser owned play at the net in the match, finishing with 10 kills, one solo block and a career-high 13 block assists. Seven other players had at least two block assists in a masterful performance by the team's front-row players. Hillsdale outblocked Northwood 20-3 in the match.

Leutheuser's 124 total blocks this season are fifth-most in a single season in school history.

Freshman Kaleigh Shuster had the best match of her rookie season, finishing with seven kills, three digs and four block assists. Shuster's versatility and athleticism were assets to the Chargers in this match.

Sophomore Ashlee Crowder became just the seventh player in school history with 400 or more kills in a season, recording a match-high 18 to lead Hillsdale in its win Saturday. Crowder has 402 kills this season.

Sophomore setter Apryl Schmucker had seven kills, 38 assists and 13 digs for the Chargers, while sophomore Brogan Wells turned in another strong performance with three service aces. Junior Sydney Dow led Hillsdale with 21 digs in the match.

Click on the link below to view the stats from Saturday's match.

Chargers 3, Northwood 2