Schedule

Clarion (2-1, 0-0 PSAC) at RV Hillsdale (2-1, 0-0 G-MAC) | 5:30 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 13 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
RV Florida Southern (2-1, 0-0 SSC) at RV Hillsdale (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) | 11 a.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 14 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Purdue Northwest (2-2, 0-0 GLIAC) at RV Hillsdale (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) 5:30 p.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 14 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
 
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Additional Info

Hillsdale Roster | Clarion Roster | Florida Southern Roster | Purdue Northwest Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Clarion Stats | Florida Southern Stats | Purdue Northwest Stats | G-MAC Stats | G-MAC Standings
 
Players to Watch

Hillsdale:  #6 Amanda Hilliker, Sr., L/DS, Byron Center, MI/Byron Center (2^nd TM in D/S); #8 Maizie Brown, Sr., MH, Portage, MI/Central (4x All-G-MAC, 2023 G-MAC Tourney MVP); #11 Lauren Passaglia, Sr., S/OH, Cary, IL/Cary Grove (2x All-G-MAC); #13 Marilyn Popplewell, Sr., OH, Mason, OH/Mason (2023 AVCA HM All-American, AVCA All-Region, 2x 1^st Team All-G-MAC)

Clarion: #4 Finley Kearney, So, MH, Malvern, PA/Great Valley (8th PSAC in B/S); #8 Haley Fledderjohann, Jr., L/DS, New Knoxville, OH/New Knoxville (5th TM in D/S); #12 Charlie Allison, Sr., MH, Washington, PA/Linsly School (3rd TM in K/S); #20 Cassidy Snider, Sr., OH, Harmonsburg, PA/Conneaut (2023 AVCA/D2CCA All-American, Atlantic Region PoY, PSAC PoY)
 
Florida Southern: #3 Caroline Chambers, Gr., L/DS, Lakeland, FL/Lakeland (1st TM in D/S); #6 Mackenzie Petermann, Gr., OH, Richmond Hill, GA/Richmond Hill (2023 AVCA HM All-American; All-South Region); #15 Madison Fowler, Sr., MB, Detroit, MI/IMG Academy (2023 3rd TM All-SSC); #17 Kiersten Kraus, Sr., S, Neenah, WI/Neenah/Kent St. (2023 3rd TM All-SSC)
 
Purdue Northwest: #1 Marina Gronkiewicz, Jr., S, Munster, IN/Munster (1st TM in A/S); #3 Arra Cottrell, Jr., OPP, LeClaire, IA/Pleasant Valley (2023 2nd TM All-GLIAC); #10 Livia Thomsen, Jr., DS/L, Bettendorf, IA/Pleasant Valley (2023 HM All-GLIAC); #12 Anika Huelskamp, So., OH, Oxnard, CA/Oxnard (2023 2nd TM All-GLIAC)
 
 
Scouting the Opposition

Clarion: Always one of the teams to beat in the Atlantic Region, Clarion represents a stiff test for all of its opponents this weekend.

Coming off an Elite Eight appearance in 2023, the Golden Eagles' hopes of a return trip to the final weekend of the NCAA Tournament is built around senior Cassidy Snider, the defending Atlantic Region Player of the Year and one of the top hitters at the NCAA DII level in the country.

The returning All-American is a focal point for Clarion as the Eagles must replace both All-American starting setter London Fuller and libero Abigail Selfridge, who both graduated. Sophomore Kylie Barto has stepped into Fuller's spot, while junior Haley Fledderjohann is the team's new libero in place of Selfridge.

Up front next to Snider, Clarion must replace some key contributors to last year's regional title run, but returns two key attacking pieces to pair with Snider in senior middle hitter Charlie Allison and junior outside hitter Savanna Taosoga. Freshman Emily Klopp has also made an early impact.

Clarion is coached by Jennifer Herron, who has built a powerhouse in 18 seasons that includes two Atlantic Regional titles during her tenure, in 2010 and last season.
Florida Southern: A 2023 NCAA Tournament qualifier in a tough region, Florida Southern is building back to national power status in rapid fashion under Hillsdale alum and second-year head coach Ashlee Crowder.

Taking charge of a program that had three straight .500 or worse seasons before she got the job, Crowder led the Mocs to 21 wins and a second-round appearance in the regional, and is looking to go even further in year two.

The Mocs have great continuity on the roster with most of their top contributors back, led by 2023 AVCA All-American Mackenzie Petermann on the outside. Petermann has a lethal combination with Kent State transfer and returning All-Conference setter Kiersten Kraus, and is well-supported by returning outside hitter Zoe Lowe, and top middle hitter Madison Fowler up front.

FSC utilizes two setters in its rotation and also returns Mary Kate Mulvaney, while libero Caroline Chambers is also back for a final season. The senior-heavy Mocs, with a core of seven players with four or more years of college experience, hope to contend for a regional crown in a rugged region that includes some of the nation's historical powers at the NCAA DII level.

Purdue Northwest: Continuity is the name of the game for the Pride, as Purdue Northwest brings back three All-GLIAC honorees in its quest to contend for its first winning season since 2016.
Hitters Arra Cottrell and Anika Huelskamp lead the way for a team that's been on a steady rise over the past two seasons, combining to average just over five kills a set. Cottrell, a junior, was Purdue Northwest's best attacking player in 2023, while Huelskamp was close behind with both players earning second-team All-Conference recognition.

The Pride have experienced players in all three phases, returning both setters from 2023 in junior Marina Gronkiewicz and senior Olivia Brooke, as well as an honorable mention All-GLIAC libero in junior Livia Thomsen.

So far in 2024 those players all have made a big impact on a 2-2 start for Purdue Northwest, and the Pride also are getting solid contributions from freshman middle hitter Kennedy Rowzee, and junior Amanda Haase.

Purdue Northwest is coached by Sean Douglas, who took over a two-win program two years ago and authored a seven-win improvement in his first season, and another four-win improvement last year.
 
Scouting the Chargers

Hillsdale enters the 2024 season in the midst of the longest run of sustained success in program history. As a new campaign gets under way, there's no indication that that run is going to end any time soon. The Chargers kicked off the year with a strong weekend in Tampa that included two victories against high-quality teams, and will look to keep that momentum rolling at home this weekend.
The Chargers return a deep and talented roster full of meaningful postseason experience in 2024 as it looks to capture its eighth-straight G-MAC Tournament title, win its seventh regular season title in eight seasons, and earn what would be its seventh straight NCAA DII Midwest Regional appearance, and eighth in nine seasons.

Hillsdale has a ton of experienced attacking talent up from to work with, led by returning honorable mention All-American Marilyn Popplewell, who holds the program's single-match records for both kills and digs and is entering her fourth season as a significant contributor. Hillsdale has another strong veteran in the middle in senior Maizie Brown, the 2023 G-MAC Tournament MVP and a four-time All-G-MAC player who's back for a fifth season. Along with those two veteran stalwarts, outside hitters Emory Braswell, Marcelina Gorny and Greta Wise and middles Sydney Sahr and Adi Sysum give Hillsdale plenty of talented options up front.

Directing the attack for the third straight season is senior setter and two-time All-G-MAC honoree Lauren Passaglia. The talented left-hander's hitting chops and versatility allow Hillsdale to flow freely into a variety of offensive sets and make the Chargers difficult to defend. A group of talented freshmen that includes four gifted attacking players improve Hillsdale's depth even further.

While Hillsdale's front row is loaded, the Chargers do have a big hole to fill with the graduation of libero Alli Wiese, who rewrote the Hillsdale record book for her position and became the first libero to earn conference Player of the Year honors in 2023. While that level of production will be tough to replace, Hillsdale has talented and experienced options to fill in the gap, including senior Amanda Hilliker, who played significant time in 2023, as well as sophomore Chloe Pierce and junior Josie TeSlaa.

Coaching the Chargers for the 29^th year is Chris Gravel, who's built Hillsdale's program from the ground up and into one of the top programs in the Midwest Region. Under Gravel, the Chargers have won 10 conference regular season titles, 10 conference tournament titles, made 15 NCAA Division II tournament appearances, won the Midwest Regional title in 2011 and 2021, and reached the NCAA DII Final Four in 2011 while making the Elite Eight round in 2021.
 
Other Notes

• Chris Gravel reached an important milestone last season with his 600^th career coaching victory, all at Hillsdale, and is one of just 12 active coaches at the NCAA DII level to surpass that milestone. His 611 AVCA-recognized victories rank him tied for 11^th among all active coaches. Gravel has multiple showdowns this season with other coaches in the 600-win club, as Tampa's Chris Catanach (1,204 victories) and old friend and rival Wick Colchagoff of Findlay (611 victories) both put their teams up against Hillsdale this season.
• Hillsdale is an honorable mention team for the second straight week in the AVCA DII Preseason top 25. The Chargers are one of seven Midwest Region teams to be ranked or receiving votes in this week's poll, and the only G-MAC squad. The Chargers also were one of the top vote-getters in the 2024 G-MAC Preseason Coaches poll, and named the favorite to win the North Division.
• The Chargers enter the 2024 season looking to extend their dominance of the G-MAC for another campaign. Hillsdale has won six of the last seven regular season titles and seven G-MAC tournament titles in a row since joining the conference in 2017, and are 103-7 all-time in G-MAC regular season matches, as well as a perfect 20-0 in G-MAC Tournament matches.
• Marilyn Popplewell kicked off her third season as a starter and fourth as a major contributor with a banner weekend that saw her earn G-MAC Player of the Week honors. The outside hitter broke out early in her career, leading the Chargers with 18 kills in Hillsdale's Midwest Regional championship victory over Ferris State as a freshman in 2021. In the last two years she's built off that initial success with back-to-back first-team All-G-MAC honors, putting up the eighth and ninth-best single season kills totals as a junior and sophomore, and setting single-match records for kills (28) in Hillsdale's five-set NCAA Tournament upset of Lewis in 2022 and aces with eight in a four-set win over Wayne State last season. She finished the 2023 season with honorable mention All-American honors from the AVCA, and currently leads the G-MAC in kills per set and points per set after one weekend.
• Maizie Brown returns to Hillsdale for a rare fifth season thanks to a waiver created by the Covid-19 pandemic, and is already in the history books for the Chargers as one of the finest middle hitters in the program's duration. A four-time All-G-MAC honoree and the 2023 G-MAC Tournament MVP, Brown ranks seventh all-time in program history with 390 blocks entering this weekend. She set a single-season program record in 2023 with 44 solo blocks, surpassing 2012 All-American Lauren Grover's 39, and her 123 total blocks in 2023 rank eighth all-time.
• Senior Lauren Passaglia is a unique weapon for Hillsdale, as both an elite setter with two All-G-MAC honors, and a dangerous attacking player as a hitter as well. Her flexibility enables a variety of lineups and tactics for head coach Chris Gravel to deploy. A third-year starter, Passaglia ranks seventh all-time in program history in assists with 2,421 entering this weekend.
• Family ties play an interesting role for the Hillsdale College volleyball team this year, with several players following in the footsteps of family members who played Charger athletics. four Hillsdale players have older siblings who are or were Chargers – libero Chloe Pierce's older sister, Sophia, is a former Hillsdale women's basketball player, front row player Adi Sysum is the younger sister of former women's basketball player Arianna Sysum, and setter Josie TeSlaa is the younger sister of former Charger football player Isaac TeSlaa. There's also a pair of siblings who are both currently on the roster for the Chargers, as sophomore Greta Wise joins her older sister, Jaclyn, on the squad as well.
• Hillsdale has prior history with two of its three opponents this weekend. Clarion has been a regular non-conference foe for the Chargers this past decade, with five meetings since 2015, all won by Hillsdale. Although the Golden Eagles have never beaten Hillsdale, Clarion has taken a set off the Chargers in four of five meetings. Florida Southern and Hillsdale have split two meetings, with the Mocs taking a 3-0 victory in the first meeting in 2007, and Hillsdale winning a rematch in four sets in 2019. The Chargers and Purdue Northwest are playing each other for the first time.