Charger volleyball team whips Ferris State, will host 2009 GLIAC Volleyball Tournament
Chargers take on Ashland at 5 p.m. Saturday
November 11, 2009 - Rarely has the Hillsdale College volleyball team played with a combination of intensity, execution and drive as it did in Wednesday night's First Round GLIAC Tournament match. 
The Chargers played three very impressive sets in defeating Ferris State University 3-1 before a big crowd at Jesse Philips Arena Wednesday night. The win enables Hillsdale, 21-7 on the season, to host the 2009 GLIAC Volleyball Tournament.
Northern Michigan will take on Saginaw Valley State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the Ashland-Hillsdale match at 5 p.m. The championship match is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday.
The Bulldogs came from behind to edge the Chargers 25-22 in the first set. With Hillsdale holding an 11-6 lead in the second set, the arena scoreboard blew a fuse, but the teams played on, and it was Hillsdale who dominated the match from there.
The Chargers won each of the final three sets of the match by identical 25-15 scores. Hillsdale played crisp, determined volleyball on both offense and defense, putting together one of its most complete efforts of the season.
Hillsdale committed just nine attack errors in the entire match, hitting .319 as a team. No player had more than three attack errors, and there was a total of just one tie and no lead changes combined in the second and fourth sets.
Ferris State did have some very good individual performances, particularly from Kristy Gilchrist (13 kills, no errors, .481), but the balance and high level of play from the entire Chargers team was too much for the Bulldogs to overcome.
Taking her game to a new level was junior outside hitter Amanda Bigney, who was outstanding from start to finish. She led the team with 16 kills and hit a .433 for the match, her best mark this season. She did a great job at varying the direction and speed of her attack attempts throughout the match.
Sophomore Ashlee Crowder similarly played under control, but used her power effectively, to get 14 kills and six service aces. All of her aces seemed to start, or continue, momentum for the Chargers in the final three sets.
As a team, Hillsdale served brilliantly, getting 14 service aces compared to four service errors. The Chargers enjoyed a 15-point advantage in serving points over the Bulldogs. The win also ended a three-match losing streak Hillsdale had to Ferris State, its longest losing streak to any team in the GLIAC.
Sophomore Apryl Schmucker had four kills, four digs and 31 assists. Junior Sydney Dow, who was at the heart of the team's terrific defensvie play all night, led the team with 11 digs. Sophomore Morgan Podkul also passed well and had 10 digs.
Sophomore Clara Leutheuser had nine kills, hit .400 for the match, and had four total blocks.
Click on the link below for the stats from Wednesday's match.
Chargers 3, Ferris State 1
The Chargers played three very impressive sets in defeating Ferris State University 3-1 before a big crowd at Jesse Philips Arena Wednesday night. The win enables Hillsdale, 21-7 on the season, to host the 2009 GLIAC Volleyball Tournament.
Northern Michigan will take on Saginaw Valley State at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by the Ashland-Hillsdale match at 5 p.m. The championship match is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday.
The Bulldogs came from behind to edge the Chargers 25-22 in the first set. With Hillsdale holding an 11-6 lead in the second set, the arena scoreboard blew a fuse, but the teams played on, and it was Hillsdale who dominated the match from there.
The Chargers won each of the final three sets of the match by identical 25-15 scores. Hillsdale played crisp, determined volleyball on both offense and defense, putting together one of its most complete efforts of the season.
Hillsdale committed just nine attack errors in the entire match, hitting .319 as a team. No player had more than three attack errors, and there was a total of just one tie and no lead changes combined in the second and fourth sets.
Ferris State did have some very good individual performances, particularly from Kristy Gilchrist (13 kills, no errors, .481), but the balance and high level of play from the entire Chargers team was too much for the Bulldogs to overcome.
Taking her game to a new level was junior outside hitter Amanda Bigney, who was outstanding from start to finish. She led the team with 16 kills and hit a .433 for the match, her best mark this season. She did a great job at varying the direction and speed of her attack attempts throughout the match.
Sophomore Ashlee Crowder similarly played under control, but used her power effectively, to get 14 kills and six service aces. All of her aces seemed to start, or continue, momentum for the Chargers in the final three sets.
As a team, Hillsdale served brilliantly, getting 14 service aces compared to four service errors. The Chargers enjoyed a 15-point advantage in serving points over the Bulldogs. The win also ended a three-match losing streak Hillsdale had to Ferris State, its longest losing streak to any team in the GLIAC.
Sophomore Apryl Schmucker had four kills, four digs and 31 assists. Junior Sydney Dow, who was at the heart of the team's terrific defensvie play all night, led the team with 11 digs. Sophomore Morgan Podkul also passed well and had 10 digs.
Sophomore Clara Leutheuser had nine kills, hit .400 for the match, and had four total blocks.
Click on the link below for the stats from Wednesday's match.
Chargers 3, Ferris State 1
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