October 12, 2012 – The Hillsdale College volleyball team extended its GLIAC/GLVC Crossover Tournament winning streak to seven Friday afternoon with a 3-0 win over William Jewell College at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora, Ill.
The win propelled the Chargers to the .500 mark for the first time this season (9-9). Hillsdale will face Rockhurst in Friday's second match.
Hillsdale won the sets with progressive difficulty: 25-14, 25-20 and 25-23. But the Chargers were able to come up with big passes and serves at optimal times, especially in the third set, to get the all-important sweep. This is a tournament where teams do not want to have to play extra sets, given the frequency of the matches and quality of opposition.
The Chargers served very aggressively throughout the match, registering a season-high 13 service aces. Junior Caitlin Kopmeyer led all players with six, which is just two short of the single-match school record. She also had nine kills, a .296 hitting percentage, and 11 digs.
Senior middle hitter Lauren Grover led Hillsdale offensively with 11 kills and two block assists. Sophomore Kat Carpenter was also effective at the net, with one solo block and three block assists to go along with four kills and a .375 hitting percentage.
Freshman Haylee Booms added seven kills, while junior Bekah Draves turned in a powerful match with eight kills.
Junior Sydney Lenhart led the Chargers with 20 assists, while sophomore Alexis Waugh added 17 assists. Sophomore libero Bailey Linder's 14 digs led the Chargers.