CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Hanover volleyball team returned to Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action Wednesday evening, but fell in four sets at Mount St. Joseph; (17-25), 25-22, (21-25), (18-25).

The Panthers fall to 9-11 overall and 1-3 in HCAC play after Wednesday's setback. The Lions won their second straight conference match, improving to 8-11 overall and 2-2 in the HCAC.

A pair of Hanover players tallied nine kills to lead the offense. Freshman Kelsey Ketcham (Mishawaka, Ind.) fell one shy of her seventh triple-double of the season, as she finished the match with nine kills, 19 assists and 13 digs. Sophomore Blaise Chaney (Mason, Ohio) also recorded nine kills Wednesday, while senior Abby Crump (Indianapolis, Ind.) led the team with 20 assists. 

Hitting .300, freshman Emma Rolf (Lebanon, Ind.) logged seven kills. Rolf also added five digs defensively. Pacing the Panthers in digs was junior Ally Williams (Fountaintown, Ind.) with 23.

Hanover suffered from a negative hitting percentage in the first set, which found MSJ with an early 6-1 lead. After the Blue and Red were able to rally to take a 12-11 lead, thanks to a block from Chaney and sophomore Emily Diehr (Greenfield, Ind.), the Lions responded with a 13-5 run to close the set.

Again, HC found itself in an early deficit in set two, but a 6-0, mid-frame spurt put the Panthers in front, 16-12. Chaney capped the run with one of her four kills in the set. Consecutive attacking errors by MSJ gave Hanover the frame, 25-22.

A tightly contested third set saw the two sides in a 17-17 stalemate. Despite three kills from Ketcham, the Panthers fell victim to an 8-5 run to close the frame, suffering a 25-21 setback.

Hanover used kills from Rolf, Diehr and junior Carlie Burson (New Salisbury, Ind.) to earn a 3-1 edge in the fourth game. Unfortunately for HC though, the Lions used a 9-3 scoring run to take a 20-13 edge. The Blue and Red were able to close within six points twice, but MSJ would go on to take the set, 25-18.

The Panthers will look to bounce back this Saturday, Oct. 13, with a pair of neutral-site, non-conference matches. The weekend festivities will be held at Centre (Ky.) and will see the Panthers face Kentucky Christian and Millsaps (Miss.) at 1 and 3 p.m., respectively.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@hanover.edu