RICHMOND, Ind. -  The Hanover volleyball team hit the road for the semifinal match-up of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon, taking on no. 1 seed Earlham. The Panthers fell in the contest 3-1 (15-25, 17-25, 25-18, 23-25).
 
Hanover was paced by junior Emma Harmon (Carmel, Ind.) with 10 kills for a team-high .200 hitting percentage.
 
The opening set saw Earlham edge the Panthers early as they strung together a series of runs that propelled them in front 14-5. Hanover looked to rally as freshman Maggie Schweitzer (Shelbyville, Ind.) continued her strong year from behind the service line to cut the deficit to 20-14. However, the Quakers deemed too much down the stretch as they were able to secure the 25-15 win.
 
Set two saw the Blue and Red knot the score early off a senior Kelsey Ketcham (Mishawaka, Ind.) kill but the Earlham attack continued to fire on all cylinders. They once again put together a series of outburst that helped them jump out the 2-0 set lead, 25-17.
 
The Panthers lone victory came in set three as Harmon excelled the attack to push HC in front 6-2. The late rally continued for Hanover as Ketcham went to work with her bag of tricks charting a service ace followed by a kill to push the difference to 19-8. The final dagger came from Harmon as she took a pass from Ketcham to secure the 25-18 win.
 
However, Earlham used home court to their advantage as they were able to capitalize on a series of Hanover miscues to claim the 12-8 difference in set four. But the Panthers clawed their way back rattling off five straight points to regain the 18-16 lead when the Quakers said enough recording the final five points for the game advancing victory.
 
Hanover concluded the season at 17-10 overall and 7-2 among HCAC opponents.