HANOVER, Ind. – The Hanover Panthers (17-7 overall, 4-2 HCAC) battled the no. 15 ranked Mt. St. Joseph Lions in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action on Wednesday evening, dropping the contest 3-1 (20-25,20-25, 25-14, 15-25).
 
Hanover was led by freshman Abbey McCoy (Indianapolis, Ind.) with a team-high 10 kills while junior Maggie Schweitzer (Shelbyville, Ind.) dished out 16 assists and charted 12 digs.
 
The opening set saw Hanover look to claim the energy of Collier Arena  as they surged ahead 5-2. However, MSJ remained poise knotting the score at 11-1 before a Panther error gave them the lead. Hanover responded using a 3-0 push to jump ahead 15-13 before MSJ muscled past the Panthers 25-20.
 
The second set saw MSJ extend their lead to 2-0 when the Hanover Panthers erupted. With their backs against the wall, the Panthers clawed their way back. Leading the surge was Schweitzer from the service line pacing a 7-0 run for the 15-9 advantage. Hanover never looked back using a 4-0 run capped by a sophomore Maddie Robertson (Mitchell, Ind.) kill to catapult to the 25-14 victory.
 
But the nationally ranked Lions deemed too much recapturing the momentum in the final set. They used a series of runs en route to the 25-15 win.
 
Hanover returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 28 when they travel to Rose-Hulman. Game time is set for 4:30 PM.