Volleyball wins first GLIAC Tournament
Casey Cheney
Issue date: 11/19/09 Section: Sports
The Hillsdale College volleyball team made Hillsdale College history on Sunday in their five-set win against Saginaw Valley State University, earning their place as champions of the GLIAC.
The Chargers will face Northern Michigan University today in their first match of the NCAA Division II regional tournament. Northern is the only team in the GLIAC that Hillsdale has not beaten this year.
The weekend held more than just a team victory for the volleyball team with many individual Chargers as well, with head coach Chris Gravel earning GLIAC Coach of the Year, junior co-captain Sydney Dow receiving GLIAC Libero of the Year, and sophomore Brogan Wells getting honorable mention.
Dow and sophomore Apryl Schmucker made the GLIAC second team, and sophomore Ashlee Crowder made GLIAC first team. Dow and Schmucker made the All-Tournament team. Crowder was named the most valuable player of the conference tournament with 26 kills and a hitting percentage of .317.
Now, they are only six games away from a national title - three games at regionals, three at nationals.
"If we win six in a row now, we're the national champs," Gravel said. "It's a big feat but this team's got a lot of heart."
Before Hillsdale could take down Saginaw in the finals, they had to face Ashland University on Saturday, which proved to be another difficult match.
"We played a hot Ashland team," Gravel said. "Fortunately enough we were able to come out on top. It could've gone either way."
Hillsdale had to play a tough four games against Ashland, while Saginaw Valley beat a struggling e Saturday's game.
"We didn't have that luxury. It was four games, but it was a real battle," Gravel said.
He added that his team didn't seem any worse for wear.
"I saw them Sunday morning for our pre-game breakfast. It kind of said everything. They didn't look tired in the least bit. They were all ready to go. They couldn't wait to start warming up," he said. "At that point I knew this could be a good day."
The Chargers will face Northern Michigan University today in their first match of the NCAA Division II regional tournament. Northern is the only team in the GLIAC that Hillsdale has not beaten this year.
The weekend held more than just a team victory for the volleyball team with many individual Chargers as well, with head coach Chris Gravel earning GLIAC Coach of the Year, junior co-captain Sydney Dow receiving GLIAC Libero of the Year, and sophomore Brogan Wells getting honorable mention.
Dow and sophomore Apryl Schmucker made the GLIAC second team, and sophomore Ashlee Crowder made GLIAC first team. Dow and Schmucker made the All-Tournament team. Crowder was named the most valuable player of the conference tournament with 26 kills and a hitting percentage of .317.
Now, they are only six games away from a national title - three games at regionals, three at nationals.
"If we win six in a row now, we're the national champs," Gravel said. "It's a big feat but this team's got a lot of heart."
Before Hillsdale could take down Saginaw in the finals, they had to face Ashland University on Saturday, which proved to be another difficult match.
"We played a hot Ashland team," Gravel said. "Fortunately enough we were able to come out on top. It could've gone either way."
Hillsdale had to play a tough four games against Ashland, while Saginaw Valley beat a struggling e Saturday's game.
"We didn't have that luxury. It was four games, but it was a real battle," Gravel said.
He added that his team didn't seem any worse for wear.
"I saw them Sunday morning for our pre-game breakfast. It kind of said everything. They didn't look tired in the least bit. They were all ready to go. They couldn't wait to start warming up," he said. "At that point I knew this could be a good day."
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