Schedule
Hillsdale (12-10, 10-3 G-MAC) at Tiffin (9-13, 4-9 G-MAC) | 7 p.m. ET Friday, Nov. 14 | Gillmor Center | Tiffin, OH
Hillsdale (12-10, 10-3 G-MAC) at RV Findlay (21-3, 12-1 G-MAC) | 4 p.m. ET Saturday, Nov. 15 | Niekamp Arena | Findlay, OH
 
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Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Tiffin Roster | Findlay Roster | Hillsdale Stats | Tiffin Stats | Findlay Stats | G-MAC Stats | G-MAC Standings
 
Players to Watch
Hillsdale:  #2 Jenna Southland, So., MH, Three Rivers, MI/Three Rivers (4th G-MAC in B/S); #9 Adi Sysum, Sr., MH, Eaton Rapids, MI/Eaton Rapids (2nd G-MAC in hitting %, 8th in B/S); #15 Josie TeSlaa, Sr., S/DS, Hudsonville, MI/Unity Christian (7th G-MAC in A/S); #16 Caroline Lanicek, So., MH, Tiffin, OH/Calvert (8th G-MAC in hitting %)

Tiffin: #3 Olivia Karhoff, Sr., OH/DS, Columbus, OH/Worthington Kilbourne (1st Tm in K/S); #8 Morgan Morley, So., DS, Cleveland, OH/Lutheran West (10th G-MAC in D/S); #10 Kaylee Freund, Sr., MH, New Bremen, OH/New Bremen (5th G-MAC in B/S, hitting %); #22 Maggie Pavlansky, Jr., S, Cortland, OH/Lakeview (5th G-MAC in A/S)
 
Findlay: #8 Lauren Foerster, Sr., OH, Salem, WI/Westosha Central (4th G-MAC in hitting %, 7^th in K/S, 8th in P/S); #9 Emma White, Sr., S, Tiffin, OH/Calvert (1st G-MAC in A/S, 1st in SA/S); #15 Hannah Miller, Jr., OH, Tiffin, OH/Calvert (4^th G-MAC in SA/S, 1^st TM in D/S); #21 Makenna Belcher, Gr., OH, Marengo, OH/Sparta Highland/Ashland U. (2nd G-MAC in K/S, 5th in P/S)
 
Scouting the Opposition
Tiffin: Always a tough out in the G-MAC, Tiffin has started to piece things together after a rough start, and enter the final week of the regular season looking to build momentum for 2026.

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.

Hillsdale has dominated the all-time series with the Dragons, with a 27-2 mark against Tiffin since 2001, but Tiffin did get a win over the Chargers as recently as last season in a five-set thriller.

Findlay: A Midwest Regional finalist in 2024 that came into 2025 with high expectations, Findlay has lived up to the hype this season, with a 21-3 record and a chance to lock up the G-MAC North Division title and a top two seed in the G-MAC Tournament this weekend.

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 39-25 series edge since 1996.
 
Scouting the Chargers
Hillsdale enters the final week of the season still alive for a potential top four spot in the final G-MAC standings and a home quarterfinal in the G-MAC Tournament, but will need to win both matches this weekend at Tiffin and Findlay to keep the hope from being snuffed out.

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 recent weeks, the Chargers also got Ellie Fles back in the lineup after she missed several matches with an injury, and the sophomore has been a game-changer as well for the Hillsdale attack with several double-doubles. Marcelina Gorny also made her season debut after recovering from an injury to add to Hillsdale's front row as well.

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. Freshmen Madison Peal and Grace Drake have been coming on strong in recent weeks for Hillsdale, with Drake's versatility playing a big part in Hillsdale's lineups in recent weeks, 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

• 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 643 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.
• Freshman Grace Drake has been part of Hillsdale's setter rotation for much of the season and has seen her role grow as she's steadily improved in recent weeks. She was instrumental in Hillsdale's five set victory over Northwood at home on Oct. 24, with a 16-kill, 29-assist, 14-dig triple-double. Drake's versatility, allowing her to seamlessly transition from a setter on one point to an outside hitter the next, creates serious problems for opposing defenses and is a chess piece for Coach Chris Gravel to make good use of going forward.
• Senior Adi Sysum has been an important weapon up front for the Chargers so far and earned two G-MAC North Division Player of the Week honors this season, including this past weekend for a 16 kill, 7 block performance in a five-set victory over Walsh. A middle hitter, Sysum has been efficient on offense, hitting .380 to rank second in the G-MAC, with a team-best 2.45 kills per set, and has been a key player defensively, with 0.83 blocks per set, the eighth best mark in conference play and second for the Chargers.
• Sysum's counterpart in the middle hitter rotation, Jenna Southland, is emerging as an impact player in her own right. Southland is developing into a strong front row defensive player in the conference, currently ranking fourth in the G-MAC with 0.97 blocks per set and leading the Chargers in that stat. She also had an excellent week offensively in Hillsdale's three match roadstand from Oct. 30 through Nov. 1, finishing with 27 kills (3 per set) while hitting .531, along with five aces and 11 total blocks.
• The healthy return of sophomore outside hitter Ellie Fles has been huge for the Chargers offensively. Fles came up big in Hillsdale's sweep of previous G-MAC unbeaten Thomas More on Oct. 4, leading the Chargers with 11 kills and adding 10 digs for her first career double-double. The sophomore then exploded for a career high 21 kills and 13 digs for another double-double in a win over Tiffin on Oct. 11. Her 2.39 kills per set currently ranks second among Chargers. The threat of Fles as an attacker also is creating more opportunities for players like Caroline Lanicek and Emory Braswell to impact the match on the outside.
• Hillsdale has played well defensively at times this season. The Chargers rank fourth in the G-MAC in digs per set (16), second in service aces allowed (1.27) and second in blocks per set (2.09), all strong numbers in the conference. Hillsdale will aim for more stingy defensive play as it looks for a strong stretch run to improve its seeding in the upcoming G-MAC Tournament in November.
• 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.