September 27, 2007 - After back-to-back successful home weekends, the No. 15-ranked Hillsdale College volleyball team makes its first GLIAC weekend road trip of the season, heading to Erie, Pa. for matches against Gannon University (7 p.m. Friday) and Mercyhurst College (12 p.m. Saturday).

Hillsdale is 14-4 on the season and 5-0 in the GLIAC, good for first place in the South Division. The Chargers have won seven straight matches overall and are on a 25-match winning streak in conference play, the longest such streak since Northern Michigan won 42 straight conference matches from 1992-94.

The Chargers came through a challenging weekend last weekend, defeating South Division rivals Ashland (3-2) and Findlay (3-1) to solidify their hold on first place in the division. The win over the Eagles was particularly satisfying for Hillsdale, since Ashland was the only team to beat the Chargers in 2006, doing so twice within a week in the GLIAC tournament and the regional tournament.

Hillsdale has seen three players earn GLIAC South Division Player of the Week honors this season. Senior Melissa Bartlett and junior Stephanie Booms won awards earlier in the season, and this past week, senior libero Megan Howard won the award for the second time in her career.

Last week, Howard became Hillsdale's career leader in digs, surpassing the old mark held by 2000 graduate Cassandra Cole. Howard has 1,850 digs in her career coming into play this weekend.

Bartlett averaged 21 kills per match in the Chargers' 3-0 week last week. She leads the GLIAC and is fifth nationally with 5.12 kills per game so far this season. Booms has continued her fine play this season, ranking second in the GLIAC in assists per game with more than 13, while contributing blocking, opposite-side hitting and solid defensive play to the team.

But recently, other players have been stepping up to help the Chargers continue their winning ways. Junior Elisse Shank set a new career-high in kills twice last week, getting six at Wayne State and seven kills vs. Findlay. Shank's five service aces against Ashland were a key factor in winning the close match against the Eagles.

Hillsdale has remained in the national rankings all season, and has faced six ranked teams in 18 outings in 2007. The Chargers won't face another currently ranked team until Oct. 13, when it takes on Grand Valley State University in Allendale.

The Chargers have swept both Gannon and Mercyhurst a total of eight straight times, dating back to the beginning of the 2005 season. The last time either Erie school beat Hillsdale on the volleyball court was a 3-2 win by Gannon over the Chargers on Sept. 20, 2003.