HANOVER, Ind. – The Hanover volleyball team advanced to the semifinal round of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament as they defeated the no. 5 seed Anderson in straight sets (25-15, 27-25, 25-11) on Wednesday evening.
 
With the win, Hanover will advance to play the no. 1 seed Earlham on Saturday, Nov. 6.
 
The first set saw domination by the Panthers as they tallied 12 total kills with a .355 hitting percentage. Pacing the set was senior Kelsey Ketcham (Mishawaka, Ind.) who led a five point surge that saw HC claim the 5-0 advantage. The Panthers domination continued late into the set as sophomore Casey Dunn (Fort Thomas, Ky.) displayed success from behind the service line to propel HC to the 25-15 win.
 
Set two developed into a very back-an-forth battle when Anderson rattled off four straight points to claim the 9-6 advantage. However, HC was able to knot the score at 11-11 following a Raven miscue but the excitement wouldn't last long as they soared to the 20-15 lead. The Panthers refused to say die as junior Emma Harmon (Carmel, Ind.) connected for back-to-back kills that helped send HC to the 27-25 victory. Hanover finished with a set best 16 kills.
 
The final set of the evening saw HC dominate as they used a 10-1 rally led by junior Meredith Deckard (Bedford, Ind.) to blow past the Ravens 17-5. The rest was history as a senior Maddie Edwards (Jasper, Ind.) kill sealed the straight set win.