November 7, 2007 - One aspect of the Hillsdale College volleyball team's game that has improved in recent weeks is its ability to finish. That was never more apparent than in Wednesday's GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinal match against Saginaw Valley State University.

With the score tied 22-22 in a tense fourth game, Charger junior Jamie Murray accepted the ball to begin serving. She wouldn't give it up, as she helped lead Hillsdale on a match-ending 8-0 run to give the Chargers a 3-1 quarterfinal win over the visiting Cardinals at the Jesse Philips Arena.

Hillsdale, 25-6 on the season and ranked 11th in the nation, will now play in Saturday's tournament semifinal at Grand Valley against Ashland University.

Ashland defeated Findlay 3-1 in another quarterfinal match Wednesday night. Grand Valley will take on Northern Michigan in the other semifinal matchup Saturday. The championship match is scheduled for 4 p.m. Sunday in Allendale.


After Hillsdale took a 2-0 lead in the match, the Cardinals came back with a 30-25 game three win, in which it played with more energy and made attacks that were tougher for Hillsdale to defend. Game four started out very tight, as neither team could establish more than a three-point lead leading up to the 22-22 tie score.

Murray (pictured), who often plays a hidden but important role in the team's defensive play, has long been one of the team's most consistent servers, and has improved her passing as the season has gone along. She served effectively against the SVSU defense, allowing Hillsdale's offense to execute attacks and block to its peak ability in the home stretch of the fourth game.

The Chargers appeared to get energized by the front row play of senior Jen Pilot and sophomores Hannah Barrett and Kittrick Smith, who each made key plays in that match-ending 8-0 run.

Smith had a kill and two block assists to help get the run going. The points appeared to throw off Saginaw Valley's chemistry, as the Cardinals committed back-to-back errors to push Hillsdale's lead to 26-22 before its second timeout.

Barrett delivered a killing blow with a kill off an overpass to keep the precious momentum on Hillsdale's side. Senior Melissa Bartlett then finished off the match with her 24th kill of the night.

Bartlett hit .444 in the match and had 11 digs and three block assists to lead the Hillsdale offense. Smith and freshman Amanda Bigney each had 12 kills, with Bigney's total representing a career-high. Junior setter Stephanie Booms contributed seven kills, a .429 hitting percentage and 51 assists. Senior Megan Howard led the team with 17 digs, and had two service aces.

The Chargers were able to overcome five service errors in the one-sided game-one victory. Hillsdale hit .295 for the match compared to .181 for Saginaw Valley. This match marked the first postseason appearance for the Cardinals since 1997, and just the second in school history. SVSU finishes a fine season with a 20-12 overall record.

This is the fourth straight year Hillsdale has won a first-round GLIAC tournament match. The team knocked off Findlay in 2004 and 2005, and swept Northern Michigan in 2006. Three of those four matches have been played at home. Hillsdale has never won a GLIAC Tournament Semifinal match, and that is just one of the challenges that awaits the team in Allendale this weekend.

To view the box score from the match, click on the link below.

Box score