An extremely tight match on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 12) in Allendale went Hillsdale's way, as the visiting Chargers pulled out a 3-1 win over Grand Valley State. All four sets were decided by the minimum two points, as GVSU was only able to muster the third set victory, falling by scores of 23-25, 23-25, 25-23, and 25-27.
 
The match featured 30 tie scores and 16 lead changes in a one-hour, 55-minute battle that was as close as could be between the North Division rivals. With the result, Grand Valley State closes the regular season at 15-13 overall and 9-8 in conference play. The Lakers advance to the GLIAC Tournament as the #8 seed and will travel north to Big Rapids to face top-seed Ferris State in Wednesday's (Nov. 16) quarterfinals at 7:00 p.m.
 
Hillsdale's season ends with a 16-12 overall mark and an 8-9 record in conference play.
 
Both teams recorded 55 kills and nearly every other stat category was pretty even, as well. Hillsdale held edges in assists (54-51), aces (4-3), and digs (93-89), while the Lakers owned a 13-9 advantage in total blocks. GVSU hit .117 for the match, while the Chargers connected at a .137 clip.
 
Sophomore Staci Brower and freshman Jayci Suseland combined for 36 kills, as both players put down 18 kills apiece. Brower hit .317 in the match and recorded nine total blocks (two solo, seven assists), narrowly missing out on a double-double. Suseland added four block assists.
 
Five Lakers recorded at least 10 digs, with senior Amanda Glaza providing a team-best 20 digs in her final home match. A pair of freshmen - Sydney Benchley and Kendall Yerkes - tallied 17 digs, while junior setter Katie Olson handed out 42 assists, 11 digs, two blocks, a kill, and an ace. Sophomore Taylor Stewart recorded 14 digs, five assists, two service aces, and a kill.
 
The opening set was tied 14 times. Suseland put down four kills in a five-point span to pull GVSU from 17-16 deficit into a 20-18 lead. Hillsdale scored three straight points to take a 22-21 edge, but consecutive kills from sophomore Shannon Winicki and Olson put the Lakers back on top, 23-22. The Chargers responded with back-to-back kills and an ace to take the opening frame 25-23.
 
After Hillsdale scored the first three points of set two, GVSU bounced back with five consecutive points. That included two blocks from Brower, as she teamed with Winicki on one and Suseland on the other. With the Lakers on top 8-7, Hillsdale ran off six points in a row to open a 13-8 edge. The deficit grew to 18-13 when GVSU began to chip away with a pair of Suseland kills and a Yerkes-Sydney Doby block. After two kills from Brower and a Charger error, the scorer was 22-21 in Hillsdale's favor, but the Lakers could not pull even. The Chargers won its second straight set by a 25-23 score.
 
In set three, Hillsdale was in front 8-5 before Grand Valley State ran off six points in a row - two came on kills from Doby and Suseland, while the other four were Charger errors. HC pulled to within 14-12 before Winicki put down back-to-back kills to start a 5-0 run. Brower and sophomore Danielle McCormick added consecutive kills to make it a 21-13 score, but Hillsdale notched a five-point run to get back in the match. Stewart, Doby, and Suseland finished the set with three late kills to give GVSU the 25-23 victory.
 
The Lakers were in front 7-3 and that lead moved to 11-6 on consecutive kills from Doby and Suseland. Two Brower kills put GVSU on top 16-13 until the Chargers scored four straight points to take a 17-16 edge. A combined Doby-Suseland block and back-to-back Brower kills pushed the Lakers on top 23-20, but Hillsdale stunningly ran off the next four points to take the 24-23 lead. Brower kept the Lakers in it and avoided match point with two kills of her own. With the score tied at 25-25, GVSU committed a pair of errors and Hillsdale had its third set win of just two points.
 
Winicki tallied seven kills and two block assists, while Doby added five kills and three blocks for the Lakers.
 
Grand Valley State has faced Ferris State twice this season, falling 3-1 in Allendale on Sept. 27 and 3-0 in Big Rapids on Nov. 1.