Volleyball
Panthers fall to Washington in NCAA Regional
Hanover College's volleyball squad was knocked out of the NCAA III national tournament with a three-game loss to Washington University-St. Louis (Mo.). The Midwest Regional contest was played Thursday, Nov. 8, in Kenosha, Wis.
Washington (Mo.), ranked seventh in the nation, defeated the Panthers 30-19, 30-22, 30-23 to advance in the 61-team tournament. The Bears, now 28-5 on the season, have appeared in the national championship game in four of the past five years.
Senior outside hitter Carley Meek (Indianapolis, Ind.) led Hanover's attack with eight kills and four digs.
Senior hitter Danielle Hazelbaker (Selma, Ind.) added seven kills and classmate Angela Semrau (Grafton, Ohio) tallied five kills and a block.
Setters Miranda Undem (Selma, Ind.) and Megan Oilar (Noblesville, Ind.) combined for 24 assists. Undem, a senior, totaled 11 assists, while Oilar, a freshman, chalked up 13 assists off the bench.
Senior defender Elizabeth Loechle (Fort Mitchell, Ky.) tallied eight digs in her final collegiate appearance.
Hanover caps its season with a 23-11 record.
Hanover vs. Washington-St. Louis stats
Meek leads all-conference honorees
Senior outside hitter Carley Meek (Indianapolis, Ind.) was named the most valuable volleyball player in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and was one of three Panthers named to the league's all-conference squad.
Seniors Danielle Hazelbaker (Selma, Ind.) and Kristen Blood (Crawfordsville, Ind.) were each honored by the HCAC's nine head coaches. Hazelbaker was named to the first-team for the second straight season. Blood was a second-team honoree.
Head coach Peter Preocanin, in his ninth season with the squad, was named the Heartland Conference coach-of-the-year. He guided the team to HCAC regular-season and tournament titles and a berth in the NCAA III national tournament.
Meek, a four-time all-conference selection, led the Heartland Conference with 4.37 kills per game and was fourth in the HCAC with a .290 hitting percentage. She led Hanover's team with 468 kills and was second on the squad with 450 digs and 4.17 digs per game.
Hazelbaker, who has been an all-HCAC selection in each of her four seasons at Hanover, was second on the Panthers this season with 348 kills, 2.78 kills per game, and 38 service aces. The outside hitter posted 443 digs and 3.4 digs per game.
Blood, a middle blocker, ranked second in the Heartland Conference with a .342 hitting percentage and was fifth in the league with .910 blocks per game. She totaled 248 kills and a team-leading 107 blocks during the season.
Hanover closed the 2007 campaign with a 23-11 record. The Panthers were knocked out of the NCAA III tournament with a three-game loss to No. 4 Washington University-St. Louis (Mo.) in the Midwest Regional.
Panthers to face Wash U. in regional match
The Hanover College volleyball team will battle Washington University-St. Louis (Mo.), Thursday, Nov. 8, in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Division III national tournament. The contest will begin at 1 p.m. on the campus of Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis.
NCAA III volleyball tournament bracket
Hanover, 23-10 overall, is making its first appearance in the NCAA volleyball tournament. The Panthers shared the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season championship with the College of Mount St. Joseph. Both teams posted 7-1 league marks.
Hanover earned the HCAC's automatic berth in the NCAA tournament with two victories in the conference's post-season tournament, including a four-game decision against Mount St. Joseph in the finale.
Washington (Mo.) is ranked No. 4 in the nation and enters with a 27-5 overall record. The Bears are in the tournament field for the 21st-consecutive season. The squad has advanced to the national championship match in four of the past five seasons. Washington (Mo.), which has won its regional title for the past seven years, was the national runner-up in 2006 after falling to Juniata College, 3-2.
Washington (Mo.) has won an NCAA-record eight Division III national volleyball championships. The Bears last won the title in 2003.
The winner of the Hanover-Washington (Mo.) match will play again at 4:30 p.m., Friday, Nov. 9, against the winner of a battle between the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (31-5), ranked No. 9 in the nation, and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville (24-12). Those squads tangle at 3:30 p.m., Nov. 8.
In addition to the four schools in Hanover's portion of the bracket, the Midwest Regional also features host Carthage College (31-4), Carroll College (20-13), Calvin College (29-4) and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (24-9). Carthage is ranked No. 6 in the nation, while Calvin enters at No. 16 and Wisconsin-LaCrosse is No. 17 nationally.
The Midwest Regional championship match is slated for 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 10.
The finals of the NCAA's 61-team volleyball tournament will be held Nov. 15-17 at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Ill.
Hanover earns spot NCAA III tourney field
Hanover College's volleyball team earned its first berth in the NCAA III national tournament with a four-game victory against the College of Mount St. Joseph (Ohio) in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference's tournament championship. The match was played Sunday, Nov. 4, in Collier Arena.
Hanover (23-10) defeated the Lions 30-28, 30-22, 21-30, 30-27 to pick up the Heartland Conference's automatic berth in the 61-team national tournament. The pairings for the event will be announced Monday, Nov. 5.
The Panthers' victory in the finals snapped a streak of nine consecutive conference championships for Mount St. Joseph. The Lions capped the season with a 20-17 overall record.
Senior outside hitters Carley Meek (Indianapolis, Ind.) and Danielle Hazelbaker (Selma, Ind.) combined for 35 kills and 35 digs to spark Hanover. Meek totaled 21 kills, 16 digs and two service aces. Hazelbaker had 14 kills and a team-high 19 digs.
Freshman setter Megan Oilar (Noblesville, Ind.) came off the bench to tally a team-best 26 assists for the Panthers.