September 21, 2007 - They say revenge can be sweet, and if that's the case, there was a lot of sugar inside Jesse Philips Arena Friday night.

The Hillsdale College volleyball team defeated the 10th-ranked Ashland Eagles 3-2 before a home crowd of more than 300 Friday. The win, the Chargers' third over a nationally ranked opponent this season, improves their record to 13-4 overall and 4-0 in the GLIAC. The loss was just the second on the season for Ashland, as it fell to 14-2 and 3-1.

Although the win doesn't completely avenge the fact that Ashland was the only team to defeat Hillsdale last season, it was a sweet win for the Chargers, who jump into a one-game lead in the GLIAC South Division with the victory.

Hillsdale jumped out to the lead with a 30-24 win in the first game. Ashland dominated game two, 30-16, and held a 22-17 lead in the third game. But the Chargers scored nine straight points, thanks to the reliable serving of junior Jamie Murray, and went on to win the game 30-24. Murray finished with a career-high 19 digs and had no service errors in 22 attempts.

Game four was a classic, with the Chargers holding a 28-22 lead. But Ashland found reserves to come back to force a game five, 32-30.

Hillsdale jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the fifth game, and after a brief rally by the Eagles, the Chargers were able to finish off the win, 15-11.

In an up-and-down match, Hillsdale played some of its best volleyball of the season, both overcoming deficits and losses of momentum to an extremely talented and well-coached Eagles team. This match was the first meeting between the two teams since the 2006 NCAA Division II regional finals, when Ashland ended Hillsdale's best volleyball season ever, 3-0 in stunning fashion.

Although the makeup of both teams is vastly different from a year ago, the competitive nature between the two teams hadn't changed a bit. The Chargers played with intensity and emotion, and were led by a number of yeoman performances.

Junior Elisse Shank, who had a career-high six kills Tuesday night at Wayne State, followed that match up with the finest all-around performance of her career vs. the Eagles. She only played in the last three games, but was extremely effective, getting two kills, one assist, five service aces, one dig and one solo block. Her play was a steadying force for the Chargers, who matched Ashland's considerable aggressiveness.

Senior Melissa Bartlett played a powerful match, leading the team with 25 kills, while picking up 16 digs. Sophomore Kittrick Smith also played hard and effectively, picking up 11 kills, while dishing the match-winning assist to Bartlett in the fifth game.

Junior Stephanie Booms was simply outstanding, recording 46 assists to go along with a career-high 19 digs. Her eight kills left her two short of her second career triple double. Senior Megan Howard had 32 digs, just three shy of her career-high.

Ashland outhit Hillsdale for the match, .160-.141. But the Eagles were hurt by 14 service errors, and finished with 12 fewer digs than Hillsdale. Mary Kate Glowe led Ashland with 25 kills, and had 22 digs. Lynsey Warren added 52 assists and 24 digs for the Eagles.

Hillsdale is back home Saturday afternoon for a 2 p.m. tilt with the University of Findlay.

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