Schedule
Hillsdale (7-7, 3-3 G-MAC) at Findlay (8-6, 5-1 G-MAC) | 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2 | Croy Gymnasium | Findlay, Ohio
Hillsdale (7-7, 3-3 G-MAC) at Tiffin (0-13, 0-4 G-MAC) | 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 | Gillmor Student Center | Tiffin, Ohio
 
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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:  #3 Molly Kennedy, Sr., MH, Copley, OH/Archbishop Hoban (5th G-MAC in B/S, hitting %); #5 Chloe Pierce, 5th, DS/L, Grabill, IN/Leo (5th G-MAC in D/S); #14 Grace Drake, So., S/OH, Wabash, IN/Southwood (1st G-MAC in A/S); #20 Ellie Fles, Jr., OH, Grand Rapids, MI/South Christian (10th G-MAC in K/S, P/S)

Findlay: #3 Victoria Mescher, So., MH, Fort Loramie, OH/Fort Loramie (5th G-MAC in SA/S); #10 Zoya Winkelfoos, Sr., DS, Mount Gilead, OH/Highland (5th G-MAC in A/S); #14 Keira Turek, Sr., OH, Uhrichsville, OH/Conotton Valley (11^th G-MAC in B/S); #15 Hannah Miller, Sr., OH/DS, Tiffin, OH/Calvert (1st G-MAC in K/S, P/S)

Tiffin: #8 Morgan Morley, Jr., DS, Cleveland, OH/Lutheran West (9^th G-MAC in D/S); #15 Parker Vackert, So., OH/RS, Fostoria, OH/Carey (1^st TM in K/S); #16 Kat Akolzin, So., S, Kent, WA/Kentwood (6th G-MAC in A/S); #24 Katelyn Owens, Sr., MH, Maumee, OH/Maumee (1st G-MAC in hitting %)

 
Scouting the Opposition
Findlay: Coming off one of their best seasons in program history, and battling significant graduation losses, the Oilers have reloaded, leading the G-MAC North Division and remaining a factor in the overall title race.

With several key offensive weapons from the 2025 squad gone, Findlay has leaned heavily so far on those that remain. Hannah Miller has gotten the brunt of the work, leading the G-MAC by nearly a full kill per set with massive usage rates. Fifth year veteran Lauren Foerster is a capable supporting piece on the right side, while junior Stephanie Smith has made important contributions as well.

Findlay lost four-year starter Emma White to graduation and their tabbed replacement has yet to return from injury, so the Oilers have pivoted to using converted players at setter. One-time defensive specialists Zoya Winkelfoos and Kirsten Bomholt have filled in and kept the Findlay offense rolling. Bomholt, Claire Schoenberger and Miya Ellerbrock occupy the back-row for the Oilers while Miller also makes big contributions defensively as a six-rotation player. Victoria Mescher mans the middle for Findlay.

Head Coach Wick Colchagoff is in 33^rd season as a head coach, 29^th at Findlay and is one of 11 active coaches at the NCAA DII level with over 600 wins along with Hillsdale coach Chris Gravel.
 
Tiffin: The Dragons enter the weekend winless against a brutal schedule that has included five nationally-ranked opponents and four matches against G-MAC Division leaders. There's a good chance Tiffin is better than the 0-13 mark so far indicates and better results could be on the way as the schedule starts to lighten up.

The Dragons have a young squad up front, with sophomore Parker Vackert and freshman Amber Czerniak leading the team in kills per set along with veteran middle hitter Katelyn Owens. Tiffin is looking to build more consistency offensively after a slow offensive start to the season.

Tiffin's main setter entering the year was veteran Maggie Pavlansky, but she's missed time with an injury, opening the door for a bigger role for sophomore Kat Akolzin. Pavlansky is now back on the court and the Dragons have access to both players this weekend. Morgan Morley is in her second season as the team's libero, and joined in the back row by Lexi Barber, while Owens is the Dragons' top blocker at the net defensively.

Cary Clark is in his second year as head coach of Tiffin after leading the Dragons to an 11-13 mark in his first season in 2025.

 
Scouting the Chargers
A home sweep helped the Chargers get back on track this past weekend, and sets Hillsdale up for a big conference road trip as it looks to close the gap on Findlay at the top of the G-MAC North with a head-to-head contest on Friday.

Hillsdale has made use of a variety of players offensively so far as it looks for consistent play, with juniors Ellie Fles and Caroline Lanicek, sophomore Taylor Cook and freshman Taylor Brownsword all contributing 2.5 or better kills per set. The Chargers also have gotten solid production out of the middle from senior Molly Kennedy and Ella Vandermark. In general, however, the Chargers are hoping to cut down on attack errors and show more stability from set to set as it looks to raise its offensive production.

In the back row, fifth-year Chloe Pierce was named to the all-tournament team of the Hampton Inn Invite as the team's libero and is among the G-MAC leaders at her position, averaging 4.57 digs per set so far. She has been well supported by fellow backrow players Ella Byrum, returned from injury and serving well, junior Hannah Baker and sophomore Madison Peal.

Hillsdale had been running a 6-2 system the last two seasons, but with the graduation of Josie TeSlaa the Chargers turned setting duties over to sophomore Grace Drake, who's put up solid numbers so far while leading the Hillsdale offense. Hillsdale also has begun working talented 6-foot-2 freshman setter Ivy Rex into the mix as well.

Coaching the Chargers for the 31^st 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. Returning as assistant coaches for the season are Megan Molenkamp and Rick Langston, and the Chargers are also welcoming back former libero Sydney Barrett and former assistant Stephanie Gravel to the staff as well in 2026.

 
Other Notes

• Hillsdale College athletics will once again stream on FloCollege for the 2026-27 season as the Great Midwest Athletic Conference continues with 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 entered the G-MAC schedule in 2026 as the favorite to win the North Division, edging out defending division champion Findlay by a single first place vote in the preseason poll. Currently the Chargers are second in the division at 3-3, behind Findlay at 5-1.
• Ellie Fles was named Tournament MVP of the Wayne State Warrior Invite in the first week of the season, leading the Chargers in kills in all three matches and posting double-doubles against Wayne State and Quincy. She's continued her strong play and leads not only the Chargers in kills but ranks among the top players in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in that stat so far. Fles showed promise as a sophomore but injuries during the 2025 campaign made consistency difficult. Now fully healthy, Fles appears on the verge of a breakout.
• Senior Molly Kennedy has bided her time behind All-G-MAC middle hitters throughout her career for the Chargers, but earned a spot in the starting lineup for the first time at the Warrior Invitational and had a coming out party, averaging an impressive 1.55 blocks per set. She remains among the G-MAC leaders in blocks per set four weeks into the season, and as a veteran presence on a team that lacks experienced middle hitters, Kennedy should be a key for the Chargers this year.
• A veteran player for the Chargers, Chloe Pierce chose to put off graduation and return for a fifth year for Hillsdale in 2026. The starting libero for the Chargers, Pierce was named to the Hampton Inn Invite All-Tournament team three weekends ago, and ranks fifth in the G-MAC with a solid 4.57 digs per set, a major improvement on her numbers in 2025. A leader and captain for Hillsdale, Pierce will be leaned upon heavily throughout the 2026 campaign.
• After a quiet freshman season, sophomore Taylor Cook has been coming on strong on the outside for the Chargers. She's led or tied for the team lead in kills in four of the last five matches, including 12 in a sweep of Northwood and a collegiate-best 13 against Ashland two weeks ago. On a team that's looking for a player to take the lead offensively, Cook could be developing into just that option.
• As just a freshman, Ella Vandermark has already carved out a key role for the Chargers as a middle hitter. Vandermark is contributing the most offense of Hillsdale's middle rotation with 1.70 kills per set, is one of the team's most dangerous servers with a Hillsdale-leading 16 aces, and is starting to assert herself defensively with 0.83 blocks per set. Her continued development will be important for Hillsdale's success in the second half of the season.
• Hillsdale had another great academic year in 2025-26, posting a cumulative GPA above a 3.7 and ranking among the top Hillsdale College athletics teams in cumulative GPA. Two returning starters for Hillsdale played a big role in that accomplishment, as junior Caroline Lanicek and fifth-year Chloe Pierce each earned CSC Academic All-District honors for their performance in the classroom last season.
• Entering his 31^st season at Hillsdale, Chris Gravel has proved himself as one of the elite college volleyball coaches in the country. His 653 AVCA-recognized victories rank 10^th among all active coaches at the NCAA DII level, and his .685 winning percentage ranks 25^th, and 13^th among active coaches with 20 or more campaigns. He is one of just 11 active NCAA DII coaches with 600 or more wins in his career.
• Hillsdale is 40-25 since 1996 against Findlay, who it's shared a conference with for decades dating back to time in the GLIAC. The two programs split last year with a five-set victory for the Chargers on the road snapping a three game losing streak to the Oilers. Hillsdale is 30-3 all-time against Tiffin but have not beaten the Dragons on the road since 2023, with back-to-back losses at Tiffin in 2024 and 2025. The Chargers are looking to end that drought this weekend.