The Collegian

Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Andrew Dodson Junior Emily Bennett spike while a Michigan Tech player attempts to block. Bennett made 16 kills last weekend

Charger volleyball found themselves defeated at home in a conference game for the first time in two seasons against Michigan Technological University after a win against Northern Michigan University.

This weekend, the team will not have a typical homecoming weekend. Both matches are away, beginning with a three hour drive to Ferris State University Friday night.

This will be followed Saturday by a trip to Grand Valley State University to play a team undefeated in the GLIAC.

The Chargers are still trying to find an identity at the end of games, head coach Chris Gravel said, with mixed results. They showcased perhaps their most clutch performance of the season on Friday with a 3-0 win over Northern Michigan University.

"It was a good win. We showed some consistency and some composure in pressure situations," Gravel said. "That's what we lacked last weekend. It did get pretty tight and the stress level was high, but it didn't affect us like it has before, so I'm happy with that."

Hillsdale trailed in all three sets, but managed to come back in each one. In the first set they trailed 24-22, but scored the final four points to steal the set.

The third set was even more dramatic. At 23-18, the Chargers got the serve and shocked Northern Michigan by scoring seven straight points to take the set and the match.

The home crowd had settled down and was expecting a fourth set in order to clinch the match, but was pleasantly surprised.

"I was just very impressed with the poise that they showed," senior Claire Aubrey, an avid fan, said Friday night. "Their comeback in the third set was amazing. Their most recent win is always my favorite, but that had to be the best game I've come to this season."

Freshman Ashlee Crowder led all players with 11 kills in the win, followed by junior Emily Bennett with seven.

Saturday was a different story. The Chargers played a competitive match against Michigan Tech, but lost in four sets.

Three of those sets went into "overtime," so Hillsdale certainly had their chances.

The loss broke their at-home winning streak against conference teams, which had been intact for almost three years.

It started off similar to Friday night, after Hillsdale won the first set 26-24. The Huskies won the next two sets by scores of 25-19 and 26-24. In the fourth, the Chargers were up 23-15, but ran into a problem. They ran out of substitutions, and were stuck out of position for the rest of the set.

Michigan Tech quickly took advantage and scored 11 of the final 12 points in the match to clinch the win.

"We aren't getting long enough rallies when we serve; we are just getting one or two points," Crowder said. "That means we have to substitute more often, and you only get to do it 12 times. If you run out of subs, then you get back row players stuck in the front row."

This has become more of a problem for coaches since the rally scoring was changed to 25, because it puts the players in a position they aren't accustomed to, Crowder said.

The best way to avoid this is to score points in bunches - not to trade the serve back and forth.

It will be important for the Chargers to stay out of these situations as they try to create a new home winning streak.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools