HANOVER, Ind. – Hanover (3-1 overall) took to the road this weekend to open the season at the Heidelberg Invite to kick off the 2026 season. The Panthers finished the weekend 3-1 and showed strong fight and determination to set the tone for the rest of the season.
HANOVER v ADRIAN
Hanover College opened the 2026 season with a strong 3-1 victory over Adrian College (23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-18). After dropping a tightly contested first set, the Panthers responded by winning three straight sets to secure the season-opening victory.
Match Highlights
The Panthers overcame an early setback to take control of the match. Hanover battled through a 25-23 opening-set loss before responding with a dominant 25-22 second-set victory. The Panthers continued to build momentum in the third set, winning 25-20, before closing out the match with a convincing 25-18 fourth-set win. Hanover's offense finished with 46 kills on 142 attacks while hitting .155 for the match. The Panthers also held Adrian to just 34 kills and a .075 hitting percentage. Hanover's defense recorded 64 digs, while the Panthers also finished with 45 assists and six total blocks.
Statistical Leaders
Kills:
Molly Welborn 14,
Abbey McCoy 10,
Ryleigh Plunkitt 7,
Kinzee Dean 6,
Emmerson Gott 6
Digs:
Abbey McCoy 13,
Madison Schicker 12,
Molly Welborn 12,
Brooke Gervers 8
Blocks:
Kinzee Dean 4,
Molly Welborn 2,
Emmerson Gott 2
Key to Victory
Hanover's ability to control the match after the first set proved to be the difference. The Panthers finished with a .155 hitting percentage compared to Adrian's .075 and held a 46-34 advantage in kills. Hanover also produced 45 assists to Adrian's 33 and out-dug the Bulldogs 64-51.
Molly Welborn was a major factor on both sides of the net, leading Hanover with 14 kills while adding 12 digs and 2 blocks.
Abbey McCoy provided another all-around performance with 10 kills, 13 digs and a match-high 3 aces. Behind them,
Brooke Gervers and
Megan Vogel combined for 37 assists to keep Hanover's offense moving throughout the four-set victory. Hanovercoming from throughout the lineup, Hanover closed the match by winning the final three sets and opened the 2026 season with a 3-1 victory.
HANOVER v HIRAM
Hanover College continued its strong start to the 2026 season with a 3-1 victory over Hiram College (25-23, 25-19, 15-25, 25-16). The Panthers improved to 2-0 on the season after winning three of four sets.
Match Highlights
The Panthers put together one of their strongest offensive performances of the young season, recording 52 kills on 153 attacks for a .248 hitting percentage. Hanover also held Hiram to a .126 hitting percentage despite the Terriers recording 45 kills.
Hanover's offense was led by
Abbey McCoy with 15 kills, hitting an impressive .361, while
Molly Welborn added 13 kills and
Emmerson Gott contributed 9 kills while hitting .389.
Ryleigh Plunkitt also finished with 8 kills while hitting .304.
The Panthers received a balanced setting performance, with
Megan Vogel and
Brooke Gervers each recording 22 assists, accounting for 44 of Hanover's 49 assists.
Madison Schicker added 2 assists.
Defensively, Hanover recorded 76 digs, led by
Madison Schicker and
Brooke Gervers with 17 digs apiece. McCoy added 10 digs, while
Molly Welborn finished with 9.
At the net, Hanover totaled 4 blocks, with McCoy and Gott each recording 2 block assists.
Megan Vogel,
Ryleigh Plunkitt, and
Kinzee Dean also contributed to the Panthers' blocking effort.
Statistical Leaders
Kills:
Abbey McCoy 15,
Molly Welborn 13,
Emmerson Gott 9,
Ryleigh Plunkitt 8,
Kinzee Dean 4
Digs:
Madison Schicker 17,
Brooke Gervers 17,
Abbey McCoy 10,
Molly Welborn 9,
Kaelin Quinlin 8
Assists:
Megan Vogel 22,
Brooke Gervers 22,
Madison Schicker 2
Aces:
Madison Schicker 1
Blocks:
Abbey McCoy 2,
Emmerson Gott 2,
Megan Vogel 1,
Ryleigh Plunkitt 1,
Kinzee Dean 1
Key to Victory
Hanover's .248 team hitting percentage and 52 kills were crucial in the victory. The Panthers also held advantages in kills (52-45), blocks (4-2), assists (49-43), and digs (76-71). After splitting the first two sets, Hanover dropped the third set before responding with a dominant 25-16 fourth set, closing out the match and moving to 2-0 on the season.
HANOVER v CASE WESTERN RESERVE
Hanover College remained undefeated to open the 2026 season with a 3-1 victory over Case Western Reserve University (25-19, 25-22, 17-25, 25-22) on September 5, 2026, at Seiberling Gymnasium in Tiffin, Ohio. The Panthers improved to 3-0 on the season after winning three of four sets.
Match Highlights
The Panthers finished with 49 kills on 171 attacks for a .123 hitting percentage while holding Case Western Reserve to 40 kills and a .106 hitting percentage. Hanover also recorded advantages in assists and digs, finishing with 42 assists and 87 digs.
Hanover's offense was led by
Molly Welborn with 15 kills, while
Abbey McCoy added 12 kills and
Megan Vogel contributed 5 kills. Welborn also hit .244 for the match and finished with 9 digs.
The Panthers' serving game was a major factor, as Hanover recorded 10 aces, led by an outstanding 5-ace performance from
Abbey McCoy.
Brooke Gervers added 2 aces, while
Madison Schicker,
Kinzee Dean, and
Brooklyn Borden each recorded 1.
Defensively,
Madison Schicker led Hanover with 14 digs, while
Abbey McCoy and
Brooke Gervers each recorded 11.
Kaelin Quinlin added 10 digs and
Natalie West contributed 8 as the Panthers finished with 87 total digs.
At the net,
Emmerson Gott led Hanover with 4 blocks, while
Abbey McCoy and
Megan Vogel each added a block. Hanover totaled 5 blocks overall while CWRU recorded 14.
Statistical Leaders
Kills:
Molly Welborn 15,
Abbey McCoy 12,
Megan Vogel 5,
Ryleigh Plunkitt 5,
Emmerson Gott 4
Digs:
Madison Schicker 14,
Abbey McCoy 11,
Brooke Gervers 11,
Kaelin Quinlin 10,
Molly Welborn 9
Assists:
Megan Vogel 26,
Brooke Gervers 13,
Natalie West 1
Aces:
Abbey McCoy 5,
Brooke Gervers 2,
Madison Schicker 1,
Kinzee Dean 1,
Brooklyn Borden 1
Blocks:
Emmerson Gott 4,
Abbey McCoy 1,
Megan Vogel 1
Key to Victory
Hanover's ability to produce in multiple areas proved to be the difference. The Panthers held advantages in kills (49-40), aces (10-9), assists (42-37), and digs (87-82). After splitting the first two sets, Hanover dropped the third 25-17 but responded with a strong 25-22 fourth-set victory to close out the match and move to 3-0 on the season.
HANOVER v HEIDELBERG
Hanover College fell to Heidelberg University 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 13-25, 24-26) on September 5, 2026, at Seiberling Gymnasium in Tiffin, Ohio. Despite the loss, the Panthers finished with several strong individual performances and 77 team digs.
Match Highlights
Hanover finished with 56 kills on 156 attacks for a strong .256 hitting percentage, while Heidelberg recorded 58 kills and hit .282. The Panthers had their best offensive sets in the first two, hitting .366 in the opening set and .371 in the second set.
Molly Welborn led the Panthers with 19 kills, hitting .292 on 48 attacks.
Abbey McCoy added 15 kills while hitting .293, while
Ryleigh Plunkitt contributed 7 kills.
Emmerson Gott was especially efficient, recording 6 kills on 14 attacks for a .429 hitting percentage.
Hanover's setting was led by
Megan Vogel with 22 assists and
Brooke Gervers with 20 assists, combining for 42 of the Panthers' 48 assists.
Madison Schicker added 3 assists.
Defensively,
Madison Schicker had a standout performance with 25 digs, the most by any Panther.
Brooke Gervers added 10 digs, while
Molly Welborn recorded 9 and
Natalie West contributed 8 as Hanover finished with 77 total digs, 10 more than Heidelberg.
The Panthers also recorded 6 service aces, led by
Madison Schicker and
Brooke Gervers with 2 each.
Abbey McCoy and
Natalie West each added 1 ace. At the net,
Molly Welborn recorded 2 blocks, while McCoy and Plunkitt each added a block as Hanover finished with 6 total block assists.
Statistical Leaders
Kills:
Molly Welborn 19 (.292),
Abbey McCoy 15 (.293),
Ryleigh Plunkitt 7,
Emmerson Gott 6 (.429)
Digs:
Madison Schicker 25,
Brooke Gervers 10,
Molly Welborn 9,
Natalie West 8
Assists:
Megan Vogel 22,
Brooke Gervers 20,
Madison Schicker 3
Aces:
Madison Schicker 2,
Brooke Gervers 2,
Abbey McCoy 1,
Natalie West 1
Blocks:
Molly Welborn 2,
Abbey McCoy 1,
Ryleigh Plunkitt 1
