Hillsdale College Volleyball Team's Season Comes to an End in D-II Semifinal

Release and photo courtesy of the Hillsdale College Sports Information Department

[Box Score]

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - The California dream came to an end for the Hillsdale College volleyball team Friday night.  The Chargers saw its best season come to an end in a 3-2 loss to number one and undefeated Cal State-San Bernardino in the NCAA Division II Women’s Volleyball Semifinal Match in Sa Bernardino.

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Hillsdale’s season ends with an overall record of 31-3. This marked the first time in school history a team had advanced to an NCAA Division II national semifinal in any sport.

In a match played with incredible effort and intensity by both teams, the Coyotes prevailed in the decisive fifth set by a score of 15-6. CSUSB is now 32-0 on the season and will play four-time defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul in the national championship match Saturday night.

Junior Lauren Grover played a fantastic match, leading the team with 12 kills, four block assists and a .458 hitting percentage. Senior Clara Leutheuser had 12 kills, five service aces and one solo block.

Senior Apryl Schmucker had 41 assists and senior Morgan Podkul had a team-high 17 digs. Senior Ashlee Crowder, a three-time All-American, finished her career with 11 kills.

Hillsdale upped the level of its play in all areas in the second set, withstanding a late rally to win 25-23. Set two featured some breathless rallies, with the Coyotes picking up several improbable digs. Hillsdale’s blocking and overall efficiency was much crisper than in the first set, and the Chargers appeared to find the comfort zone that has served them so well this season. A good start in the set was key for Hillsdale, as the team jumped out to leads of 6-1 and 8-3, and never trailed en route to the win.

The Coyotes gripped firm control of the match in the opening set, hitting .458 as a team while holding the Chargers to a rare negative team hitting percentage in the set. The thing that kept the score as close as it was serving. The Chargers had three service aces compared to three service errors for the host school.