Schedule
#25 Findlay (10-2, 4-1 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (5-6, 3-2 G-MAC) | 7 p.m. ET Friday, Oct. 10 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
Tiffin (2-9, 0-5 G-MAC) at Hillsdale (5-6, 3-2 G-MAC) | 1 p.m. ET Saturday, Oct. 11 | Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena | Hillsdale, MI
 
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Findlay Roster | Tiffin Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Findlay Stats | Tiffin Stats | G-MAC Stats | G-MAC Standings
 
Players to Watch
Hillsdale:  #2 Jenna Southland, So., MH, Three Rivers, MI/Three Rivers (6th G-MAC in B/S); #4 Madison Peal, Fr., DS/L, Grand Rapids, MI/Christian (9th G-MAC in D/S); #9 Adi Sysum, Sr., MH, Eaton Rapids, MI/Eaton Rapids (2nd G-MAC in hitting %, 5th in B/S); #15 Josie TeSlaa, Sr., S/DS, Hudsonville, MI/Unity Christian (7th G-MAC in A/S)

Findlay: #7 Alana Pohlman, Sr., MH, Maria Stein, OH/Marion Local (6th G-MAC in hitting %, 10th in P/S); #9 Emma White, Sr., S, Tiffin, OH/Calvert (1st G-MAC in A/S, 2nd in SA/S); #15 Hannah Miller, Jr., OH, Tiffin, OH/Calvert (8th G-MAC in K/S, 9th in P/S); #21 Makenna Belcher, Gr., OH, Marengo, OH/Sparta Highland/Ashland U. (2nd G-MAC in K/S, 4th in P/S)

Tiffin: #3 Olivia Karhoff, Sr., OH/DS, Columbus, OH/Worthington Kilbourne (1st Tm in K/S); #12 Katelyn Owens, Jr., MH, Maumee, OH/Maumee (3rd G-MAC in hitting %); #22 Maggie Pavlansky, Jr., S, Cortland, OH/Lakeview (4th G-MAC in A/S); #24 Lexi Barber, Jr., DS, Highland, MI/Milford (5th G-MAC in SA/S)
 
 
Scouting the Opposition
Findlay: A Midwest Regional finalist in 2024 that came into 2025 with high expectations, Findlay suffered its first real setback last weekend in a five-set upset loss to Cedarville. But the formidable Oilers are still on track to be North Division champs and a NCAA Tournament team once again.

Findlay boasts more offensive firepower than anyone else in the G-MAC, leading the league in kills per set by a significant margin. From last season's team, the Oilers return two of the top hitters in the G-MAC in Hannah Miller and Alana Pohlman, as well as additional quality weapons in Lauren Foerster and Abria Lomax.

To this core, the addition of graduate transfer Makenna Belcher, Ashland's best player two years ago, has taken Findlay up another notch as Belcher currently ranks as possibly the best all-around hitter in the league so far.

Directing the attack is a Findlay legend, Emma White, now in her fourth season as the team's starting setter. Kirsten Bomholt, herself a dangerous offensive weapon, leads the defense in the back row for the Oilers along with Grace Auer.

Hillsdale and Findlay have a long history of battles dating back to the two teams' GLIAC days, with the Chargers holding a 37-22 series edge.

Tiffin: Always a tough out in the G-MAC, Tiffin has gotten off to a rough start in the first season under new head coach Cary Clark, but has played a brutal schedule to date that includes two matches against the preseason G-MAC favorite.

Undersized up front against many teams they play, the Dragons are scrappy and tenacious, led by veteran hitters like Olivia Karhoff, Katelyn Owens and Kaylee Freund, all multi-year contributors for Tiffin who are tough on the block and give the team a variety of options as attacking players.

After splitting the role last season in a 6-2 format, Maggie Pavlansky is now the Dragons' full-time setter and among the conference leaders in assists per set. While Pavlansky has settled in nicely at setter, Tiffin is still looking to solidify its back row, with Morgan Morley, Taylor Kirker and Lexi Barber all seeing match time for the Dragons.

At 0-5 in G-MAC play, Tiffin sees the schedule ease up a bit in coming weeks but can't afford too many more losses if it hopes to make the G-MAC Tourney.

Hillsdale has dominated the all-time series with the Dragons, with a 26-2 mark against Tiffin since 2001, but Tiffin did get a win over the Chargers as recently as last season in a five-set thriller.
 
Scouting the Chargers
A strong weekend in Kentucky pushed Hillsdale above .500 in G-MAC play for the first time this season, and the Chargers enter a huge weekend with a chance to insert themselves into the title race. Preseason North Division favorite Findlay is just one game ahead of Hillsdale in the standings and the Chargers can move into a tie for first place and get a leg up in the tiebreak with an upset victory at home on Friday.

On an otherwise inexperienced team, Hillsdale does return three key contributors who played major roles in seasons past: senior Adi Sysum, who was part of the team's middle hitter rotation and finished fourth on the Chargers in points and second in blocks in 2024, senior Josie TeSlaa, who was one of the team's two setters in Hillsdale's 6-2 lineup and played in every match last year, and junior Chloe Pierce, who played an important role in the back row for the Chargers last season.

Retooling the front row will be a priority for Hillsdale as the Chargers lose several key contributors on the attack. Along with Sysum, Hillsdale also is giving more opportunities to sophomores Caroline Lanicek, Hannah Baker and Jenna Southland, while junior Molly Kennedy has had a bigger role in recent weeks as well. In its most recent match, the Chargers also got Ellie Fles back in the lineup after she missed several matches with an injury, and the sophomore was a game-changer as well for the Hillsdale attack with a double-double.

Two players who missed the 2024 season with injuries are already making big contributions. Junior Emory Braswell was second on the team in kills in 2023 before missing all of 2024, and is getting ample playing time on the outside . Redshirt freshman Ella Byrum was pushing hard for playing time in the back row in the 2024 preseason as well before suffering a season-ending injury, and now that she's healthy has taken on the starting libero role for the Chargers. Freshmen Madison Peal and Grace Drake are regulars for the Chargers as well, and Taylor Cook also has contributed.

Coaching the Chargers for the 30^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 11 conference regular season titles, 10 conference tournament titles, made 16 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

• There will be a new streaming home for Hillsdale College athletics in the 2025 season as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference has agreed to a media rights deal with FloSports. All Hillsdale home and conference contests will stream with FloSports as a part of its FloCollege brand. FloSports is a subscription-based livestreaming service that hosts 40,000 contests and has deals with over 20 conferences in the NCAA. You can find out more information and sign up to watch the Chargers at this link.
• Hillsdale posted its best-ever year in the classroom in 2024-25, with the highest cumulative GPA in program history and the top cumulative GPA among all Hillsdale College athletics teams. Two returning starters for Hillsdale played a big role in that accomplishment, as senior Josie TeSlaa and junior Chloe Pierce each earned CSC Academic All-District honors for their performance in the classroom last season.
• Entering his 30^th season at Hillsdale, Chris Gravel has proved himself as one of the elite college volleyball coaches in the country. His 636 AVCA-recognized victories rank 10^th among all active coaches at the NCAA DII level, and his .690 winning percentage ranks 25^th, and 11^th among active coaches with 20 or more campaigns. He is one of just 10 active NCAA DII coaches with 600 or more wins in his career.
• Hillsdale's defense has been active in the Chargers' two opening tournaments, as Hillsdale currently ranks fourth in the G-MAC in team digs per set with 16.44, and third in opponent service aces with 1.33 per set. Freshmen Madison Peal and Ella Byrum both rank in the top 10 individually in the G-MAC in digs per set as well. The Chargers will aim to convert their defensive performances into more wins in conference play with one of the G-MAC's best offenses, Findlay, coming to Hillsdale this Friday.
• The Chargers got a big boost on Saturday with the healthy return of sophomore outside hitter Ellie Fles. Fles came up huge in Hillsdale's sweep of previous G-MAC unbeaten Thomas More, leading the Chargers with 11 kills and adding 10 digs for her first career double-double. Fles' return should give a boost to Hillsdale's offense at a good time with a tough home weekend on tap.
• Senior Adi Sysum has been an important weapon upfront for the Chargers so far and earned G-MAC North Division Player of the Week on Oct. 6 for helping Hillsdale sweep both matches of its Kentucky trip. A middle hitter, Sysum has been efficient on offense, hitting .389, the second-best mark in G-MAC play, with 2.40 kills per set, and has been a key player defensively, with 0.93 blocks per set, the fifth best mark in conference play and tops for the Chargers.
• 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. Two 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 and current Detroit Lion Isaac TeSlaa.