Charger volleyball posted a 2-1 record Sept. 6 and 7 at the Tampa Volleyball Classic hosted by the University of Tampa Spartans. 

The Hillsdale Chargers defeated the University of New Haven Chargers 3-0 on Sept. 6. They then beat the Texas Woman’s University Pioneers 3-2 and lost to the Spartans 1-3. As of Sept. 9, the Spartans are ranked first by the American Volleyball Coaches Association in the 2024 Division II Women’s Volleyball Poll.

Head coach Chris Gravel believes the quality of the Chargers’ opponents allowed them to test everything they had worked on during the preseason. 

“The competition was highly ranked, and playing them forced us to take a step forward in our development,” Gravel said. “Although Tampa is now 3-0 in the preseason, our biggest opponent remains ourselves.”

Junior Josie TeSlaa thinks each team they faced brought a new challenge and different style of play. 

“Each team brought a different type of skill and energy,” TeSlaa said. “For example, New Haven was a scrappy team, Texas Woman’s had great serves and a more physical offense, and Tampa was very technical and brought a lot of power in their serves and attacks.”

Redshirt sophomore Chloe Pierce said the Chargers played hard throughout the tournament, aiming to leave nothing to chance. 

“This team did such a good job of leaving it all on the floor,” Pierce said. “We also have worked hard on communicating productively with each other on the court and focusing on what needs to be done to win, and I think that really showed in our play.”

In preparation for upcoming games, Gravel intends to focus on the specific aspects of the game that needed work last weekend.

“Although greatly improved, our serving and passing will be the focus of this week,” Gravel said.  

The Chargers will play the Clarion University Golden Eagles Sept. 13 at 5:30 pm for Neon Night. On Sept. 14, the Chargers take on the Florida Southern College Moccasins at 11 am and the Purdue Northwest University Pride at 5:30 pm for Freshman Night. All three games are a part of the Chargers Net Result Invitational and will be played at Dawn Tibbetts Potter Arena.