November 12, 2009 - For the third time in his outstanding career, Hillsdale College volleyball coach Chris Gravel has been named the GLIAC Coach of the Year.

The Chargers, champions of the GLIAC South Division, were well-represented on the All-GLIAC awards list, released by the conference office Thursday afternoon.

Junior Sydney Dow (pictured) was named the conference Libero of the Year, the first time a Hillsdale College player has won the award.

Sophomores Clara Leutheuser and Ashlee Crowder were each named First-Team All-GLIAC. Dow and sophomore setter Apryl Schmucker earned spots on the Second-Team All-GLIAC, while sophomore Brogan Wells was named honorable mention All-GLIAC.

Leutheuser finished the regular season as the GLIAC leader in both hitting percentage and total blocks. She came on strong in her second season as a starting middle hitter for the Chargers, and had a season-high 13 block assists in the regular season finale against Northwood.

Crowder was named GLIAC South Division Player of the Week three times, and currently has 416 kills for the season, seventh-most in a single season in school history. She has recorded double digit kills in all but two matches this season.

Dow was also a Second-Team All-GLIAC pick in 2008, and ranked third in total digs in the 2009 regular season. A team captain, Dow was named to two All-Tournament teams this season.

Schmucker took over the starting setter role this season, and has been one of the team's most effective servers. A multi-talented player, Schmucker is fourth on the team in kills, third in hitting percentage and tied for first on the team in service aces. She needs just 19 assists to crack the 1,000 mark for the season.

Wells has been an inspirational player for Hillsdale this season. Playing through a knee injury, she has been one of the team's most consistent servers and passers. She shares the team lead in service aces with 35 this season.

Gravel has won more than 270 matches in his coaching career, all at Hillsdale. He has guided the Chargers to three South Division titles in the past four years and has posted six straight seasons of 19 wins or more.

Hillsdale College is the host school of this year's GLIAC Volleyball Tournament. Play begins with the Northern Michigan-Saginaw Valley State match at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The host Chargers will take on Ashland University at 5 p.m. Saturday. The championship match is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday.

Please click on the link below for the full All-GLIAC release.

2009 All-GLIAC Volleyball Release