Volleyball preps for playoff push
Casey Cheney
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Sports
The Chargers are looking ahead to their away games this weekend against Wayne State University and Northwood University with hopes of hosting the semi-finals and finals of the GLIAC playoffs for the first time in four years. Hillsdale already has the South Division title and is set to host the first round of playoffs on Nov. 11.
Hillsdale has beaten Wayne State and Northwood already this season. Co-captain and senior Hannah Barrett said they played some of their best volleyball against Wayne State earlier in the season.
"Hopefully we continue on that pattern," she said.
Junior co-captain Sydney Dow said the team hasn't played up to this level in the last few weeks, last weekend's loss to Findlay being the most recent example despite the team going into the game playing well.
"We were playing a little bit tentative," she said.
Head coach Chris Gravel said, "We came out strong, but we couldn't maintain it."
His strategy for the week: practice hard. They've had to ease up during practice, he said, due to sickness and injury, which hasn't been working so far.
"We're going to push it to the max and see where we land," he said. "It's more important to be tough than it is to be good right now. We're going to be tough after this week."
Barrett said Gravel told the team they wouldn't be losing their games against Wayne State and Northwood and will do everything in his power to make sure they don't.
"We're looking forward to making a big strong push at the end. That's about all we can do at this point," Gravel said.
Wayne State, he said, has been experiencing similar problems to Hillsdale in the last couple weeks.
"A lot of what was easy for them in the beginning they're struggling with," he said.
Dow said while they played well against Wayne State earlier in the season, they haven't been playing at that level for a couple of weeks. They know how it feels to play against Wayne State, however, so she said she hopes they will play with that same intensity.
Northwood will be playing their final game of the season on Saturday against the Chargers, which means, Gravel said, "they're going to let it all fly." He added they've stepped up their game in the last couple weeks and have gotten some key players back after injuries earlier in the season.
"We're carrying a burden this weekend," he said. "But it's better to have that burden than not to have [it]."
Neither of the teams is to be taken lightly, Dow said, so the Chargers plan to go into the matches ready to dominate. Though they've had trouble finishing games lately, other top teams have also had their share of losses, keeping Hillsdale in a good position for the postseason.
"Everything's falling our way right now," Barrett said. "We just need to take advantage of that."
Hillsdale has beaten Wayne State and Northwood already this season. Co-captain and senior Hannah Barrett said they played some of their best volleyball against Wayne State earlier in the season.
"Hopefully we continue on that pattern," she said.
Junior co-captain Sydney Dow said the team hasn't played up to this level in the last few weeks, last weekend's loss to Findlay being the most recent example despite the team going into the game playing well.
"We were playing a little bit tentative," she said.
Head coach Chris Gravel said, "We came out strong, but we couldn't maintain it."
His strategy for the week: practice hard. They've had to ease up during practice, he said, due to sickness and injury, which hasn't been working so far.
"We're going to push it to the max and see where we land," he said. "It's more important to be tough than it is to be good right now. We're going to be tough after this week."
Barrett said Gravel told the team they wouldn't be losing their games against Wayne State and Northwood and will do everything in his power to make sure they don't.
"We're looking forward to making a big strong push at the end. That's about all we can do at this point," Gravel said.
Wayne State, he said, has been experiencing similar problems to Hillsdale in the last couple weeks.
"A lot of what was easy for them in the beginning they're struggling with," he said.
Dow said while they played well against Wayne State earlier in the season, they haven't been playing at that level for a couple of weeks. They know how it feels to play against Wayne State, however, so she said she hopes they will play with that same intensity.
Northwood will be playing their final game of the season on Saturday against the Chargers, which means, Gravel said, "they're going to let it all fly." He added they've stepped up their game in the last couple weeks and have gotten some key players back after injuries earlier in the season.
"We're carrying a burden this weekend," he said. "But it's better to have that burden than not to have [it]."
Neither of the teams is to be taken lightly, Dow said, so the Chargers plan to go into the matches ready to dominate. Though they've had trouble finishing games lately, other top teams have also had their share of losses, keeping Hillsdale in a good position for the postseason.
"Everything's falling our way right now," Barrett said. "We just need to take advantage of that."
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