Schedule
RV Hillsdale (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) vs Anderson (SC) (0-0, 0-0 SAC) | 1 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 5 | George W. Jenkins Fieldhouse | Lakeland, FL
RV Hillsdale (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) vs Augusta (0-0, 0-0 PBC) | 4 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 5 | George W. Jenkins Fieldhouse | Lakeland, FL
RV Hillsdale (0-0, 0-0 G-MAC) at Florida Southern (0-0, 0-0 SSC) | 12 p.m. EDT Saturday, Sept. 6 | George W. Jenkins Fieldhouse | Lakeland, FL
 
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Live Stats & Video
 
Additional Info
Hillsdale Roster | Anderson Roster | Augusta Roster | FSC Roster | 2024 Hillsdale Stats | 2024 Anderson Stats | 2024 Augusta Stats | 2024 FSC Stats | G-MAC Stats | G-MAC Standings
 
Players to Watch
Hillsdale:  #5 Chloe Pierce, Jr., DS/L, Grabill, IN/Leo (3^rd TM in D/S in 2024); #9 Adi Sysum, Sr., MH, Eaton Rapids, MI/Eaton Rapids (2^nd TM in B/S in 2024); #10 Emory Braswell, Jr., OH, Atoka, TN/Tipton Christian (2^nd TM in K/S in 2023); #15 Josie TeSlaa, Sr., S/DS, Hudsonville, MI/Unity Christian (2^nd TM in A/S in 2024)

Anderson (SC): #5 Ava Reeves, Jr., OH, Lexington, SC/River Bluff (2024 HM AA AVCA; 2024 HM AR AVCA); #7 Emily Campbell, Jr., MB, Statesville, NC/North Iredell (2024 HM All-SAC); #8 Katy Smith, Sr., DS/L, Fleming Island, FL/Fleming Island (1^st TM in D/S, SA/S in 2024); #15 Ellie Nieporte, Jr., S, Boca Raton, FL/ Oxbridge Academy (2024 HM AA AVCA, 2024 1^st TM AR AVCA, 2024 2^nd TM AR D2CCA)

Augusta: #4 Giulia Rodrigues, Sr., DS/L, Ft. Lauderdale, FL/UNC Asheville (1^st TM D/S); #7 Serenity Jones, So., RS, Warner Robbins, GA/Georgia St. (DI Transfer); #18 Alexis Bellarmino, So., S, Daphne, AL/U. of New Orleans (DI Transfer); #20 Layne Witherspoon, Jr., MH, Wildwood, MO/Eastern Illinois (1^st TM in K/S in 2024)

Florida Southern: #8 Tori Borton, Jr., S, Fort Myers, FL/Fort Myers/New Haven (2024 3^rd TM All-NE10 at New Haven); #11 Lindsay Piktel, So., OH, St. Bristol, WI/Westosha Central (6^th TM in K/S in 2024); #12 Bali Coles, So., OH, Bonita Springs, FL/Seacrest Country Day (72 sets played in 2024); #16 Morgan Word, Sr., MB, Orange City, FL/Deland (2^nd TM in B/S, SA/S in 2024)
 
Scouting the Opposition
For the second straight season, the Hillsdale College volleyball team starts its campaign in the state of Florida.

The Chargers travel to Florida Southern College, in Lakeland, Florida, for three matches this weekend. Hillsdale will face a tough slate, squaring off against two NCAA DII Tournament qualifying teams from 2024, as well as the host Moccasins, always a tough and talent-rich program.

Hillsdale opens with Anderson University (SC) on Friday afternoon. The Trojans are a historic powerhouse in the Southeast Region and South Atlantic Conference and enter the 2025 season with a NCAA Tournament qualification streak that stands at seven straight.

Although Anderson made the NCAA Tournament in 2024, it was a down year by their standards, snapping another streak of six straight seasons with 20 or more wins with a 19-11 finish. The Trojans are aiming higher in 2025 with significant returning talent, led by juniors and 2024 AVCA Honorable Mention All-Americans Ava Reeves and Ellie Nieporte. Emily Campbell is a returning All-SAC player for Anderson and a strong player in the middle, and the Trojans also return their top libero in Katy Smith, and four of their top six point scorers from 2024 in total. Anderson will be a great first test for a young Hillsdale squad.

Later on Friday, after battling the Trojans, Hillsdale takes on another top Southeast Region squad in Augusta. The Jaguars are looking to reload in 2025 after a 21-win season in 2024 that included a regional semifinal appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Augusta suffered heavy graduation losses from that squad, and return just three of their top 11 players in sets played from 2024 this season.

Among returners, libero Giulia Rodrigues appeared in all 29 matches and led the Jaguars in digs, and Layne Witherspoon was lethal up front with 2.45 kills per set as a part-time starter. With significant turnover, Augusta hit the transfer portal hard to restock the roster and will have several promising players in the lineup, including former DI players Alexis Bellarmino, Sydney Harrington, Lauren Nelson, Serenity Jones and Hunter McFarland, and DII transfers Isis Barrett and Angela Mateos. While the Jaguars will have limited playing experience together entering the weekend, they are a highly talented group and should be a strong competitor.

Hillsdale finishes the tournament on Saturday with a match against host Florida Southern, coached by Chargers alum and legend Ashlee Crowder. The Mocs enter 2025 as another team with significant holes to fill after major graduation losses from a winning squad in 2024.

FSC returns just two of their top nine players in sets played from 2024 – talented middle hitter Morgan Word and outside hitter Bali Coles. Four players who had small roles in 2024 – Mallory Baruch, Lindsay Piktel, Taylor Zimmerman and Kathryn Almond – will have the opportunity to play significant parts in 2025, and the Mocs also will look to a large group of newcomers, including New Haven transfer Tori Borton and JuCo transfers Elizabeth McDonald and Catherine Sweeney. With both the Mocs and Chargers turning over large chunks of their roster, Saturday's meeting should be a very different match from the two teams' 2024 meeting in Hillsdale, won in three sets by the Chargers.
 
Scouting the Chargers
The Hillsdale College volleyball team will look quite different this year.

But the high expectations will remain for the Chargers, as new faces step in and old faces step into new roles looking to keep a streak of seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances and eight straight seasons with a G-MAC Championship intact.

Nine players depart from a 2024 squad that went 22-5 and 14-1 in G-MAC play, including four of the Chargers' top five points scorers and team leaders in kills, aces, blocks, assists and digs.

Hillsdale does return three key contributors who played major roles last year in 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, senior Josie TeSlaa, who was one of the team's two setters in Hillsdale's 6-2 lineup and played in every match, and junior Chloe Pierce, who played an important role in the back row for the Chargers and will compete for the open libero position.

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 expecting big things from sophomores Ellie Fles, Caroline Lanicek and Jenna Southland, all of whom impressed in limited playing time in 2024 and will have a shot at substantially bigger roles this season. Juniors Marcelina Gorny and Molly Kennedy also have valuable experience up front and will be in contention for expanded playing time, as will sophomore Hannah Baker.

Two players who missed the 2024 season with injuries could be key X-Factors for Hillsdale in 2025. Junior Emory Braswell was second on the team in kills in 2023 before missing all of 2024, and with better health in 2025 could be the solution on the outside for the Chargers. 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 recovered will be in the mix to take over the libero position for Hillsdale.

With so many jobs up for grabs, there's a tremendous opportunity for a four-player freshman class to make a significant early impact. Grace Drake has an opportunity to step into the rotation as the team's second setter if Hillsdale sticks with a 6-2 system, while Madison Peal is a real talent in the back row and will compete with Pierce and Byrum for the libero spot. Outside hitters Taylor Cook and Maddie Krappmann are talented and decorated prep players who will push the returners and fight for a rotation spot as well.

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 opens the season as an honorable mention team in the AVCA DII Preseason top 25 for the third straight year. The Chargers are one of eight Midwest Region teams to be ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll, and one of only two G-MAC squads. The Chargers also were one of the top vote-getters in the 2025 G-MAC Preseason Coaches poll and tabbed to finish second in the North Division, with three first place votes.
• The Chargers enter the 2025 season as the most dominant team in the G-MAC since joining the conference in 2017. Hillsdale has won seven of the last eight G-MAC regular season and tournament titles and has never gone a season in the G-MAC without at least one trophy. The Chargers are 117-8 all-time in G-MAC regular season matches, and 21-1 in G-MAC Tournament matches.
• 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 631 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.
• 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.
• Hillsdale's first two opponents of 2025 are new ones for the Chargers, as Friday will be Hillsdale's first-ever meeting with Anderson and with Augusta. The Chargers have gone up against Florida Southern twice, sweeping the Mocs last season in Hillsdale as part of their home invite, and winning a four-set match against Florida Southern in Lakeland in 2019.