LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Hanover volleyball team dropped a hard-fought Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinal battle with Earlham, 3-2 (18-25, 27-25, 23-25, 25-18, 16-18).

The Blue and Red (18-11 overall) finished with a game-high 75 kills that saw freshman Adrianne Vance (Indianapolis, Ind.) post a season and career-best 24 kills.

After falling in set one, the Panthers rallied behind Vance and sophomore Kelsey Ketcham (Mishawaka, Ind.) with back-to-back kills for the 17-13 advantage. But the Quakers continued to hang around knotting the set at 19-19 before finally taking the 24-22 lead. With their backs against the wall, the Panthers clawed their way out scoring the final two points with a kill by sophomore Emma Rolf (Lebanon, Ind.) for the win, 27-25.

The third set saw a very back and forth affair before a senior Ally Williams (Fountaintown, Ind.) service ace gave the Blue and Red the 15-14 lead. However, it didn't last long as Earlham went on the attack to flip the score 23-18 but the Panthers refused to roll over cutting the deficit to 24-23. Once again, Hanover found themselves on the wrong end of a set.   

In a must win situation, the Blue and Red delivered scoring three straight points led by Vance before finding themselves locked in another 16-16 battle. The winning point for HC came from behind the service line as junior Amber Miller (Louisville, Ky.) provided the ace, 25-18.

In set five, Hanover looked to get something going early but were stifled by the Quaker defense as a pair of Hanover miscues sealed the set and match victory.