Hillsdale 3, Ashland 0

September 11, 2011 - The first set of Sunday's GLIAC volleyball match between No. 11 Hillsdale and Ashland was full of back-and-forth play and drama. That's where the drama ended.

After eeking out a 26-24 win in the first set, the Chargers steamrolled their South Division rivals 25-10 and 25-16 in the final two sets to pick up a 3-0 victory in Ashland. Hillsdale has now won six matches in a row, and is 6-1 on the season and 3-0 in the GLIAC.

Hillsdale will play its home opener this Friday night, versus Ohio Dominican University, at 7 p.m.

The first set was tighly played, with neither team leading by more than two points. Ashland inched ahead 22-20, but the Chargers played well down the stretch in the set, outscoring the Eagles 6-2 to finish the set.

The momentum clearly carried over into the second set, as Hillsdale raced out to an 8-1 lead. Three service aces by senior setter Apryl Schmucker helped establish the dominant tone of the final two sets for the team.

In that second set, the Chargers hit a blistering .565, recording 14 kills wth just one error on 23 attempts.

The team didn't cool off much in the third set, jumping out in front 10-3.

Defensively, Hillsdale got better as the match went along. Ashland hit .355 in the first set, but hit a combined .136 in the match's final two sets.

Senior Ashlee Crowder played an awesome match for the Chargers, with 12 kills, nine digs and a .440 attack percentage.

The middle hitter duo of Clara Leutheuser and Lauren Grover combined for 15 kills and hit around .400. Sophomore Bekah Draves also turned in an impressive performance with eight kills and a .538 attack percentage.

Schmucker had 32 assists, six digs and three service aces. Senior libero Morgan Podkul had seven digs and two service aces.

Dating back to the third set of its match with the University of Indianapolis, the Chargers have now won 17 sets in a row.