HANOVER, Ind. – The Hanover Panthers (5-2 overall) hosted their annual Hanover Invitational on Friday evening, falling to Sewanee in a five set thriller (25-20, 25-27, 25-21, 26-28, 11-15).
 
The Blue and Red were led in the contest by freshman Abbey McCoy (Indianapolis, Ind.) with a team-high 13 kills. Teammates, sophomore Maddie Robertson (Mitchell, Ind.) and sophomore CC Shick (Fort Thomas, Ky.) both added 11 kills apiece. Senior Aubrey Walton (Linton, Ind.) dished out a team best 24 helpers while senior Casey Dunn (Fort Thomas, Ky.) added 31 digs.
 
From the opening serve, the two teams battled as Hanover was able to use a three-point rally to claim the 14-10 advantage. The Panthers continued on the attack before the Tigers responded cutting the difference to 17-16. However, the Blue and Red remained poise capturing the final two points for the set one win.
 
Sewanee would capture set two 27-25 with 10 kills on 42 total attempts.
 
Set three would see the Panthers surge in front 7-4 following a series of Sewanee errors. They extended their lead moments later with Dunn leading a 5-0 rally to push the Hanover difference to 13-9. Hanover continued on the attack as Shick connected for a kill that gave HC the 22-16 advantage. Robertson handled the rest propelling Hanover to victory.
 
With the contest knotted at two sets apiece, the Tigers looked to roar claiming the 11-9 lead. But Hanover refused to go down without a fight cutting the deficit to 12-11 before ultimately surrendering the match.
 
Hanover returns to action on Saturday when they wrap-up action as part of the Hanover Invite.