Volleyball Report (Week 9) - Bluffton Claims First HCAC Volleyball Title and No. 1 Seed

GREENWOOD, IN - Bluffton University clinched the school's first ever HCAC volleyball championship and right to host the HCAC AQ Tournament on November 7-8.  The Beavers (24-5, 7-0 HCAC) finished the week 4-0 with wins over Adrian, Rose-Hulman, Illinois College, and Franklin.

Bluffton has won 14 straight matches dating back to September 27 and will close the regular season with a 7:00 PM match against rival Defiance tonight.  BU has locked up the No. 1 seed and will host the six-team conference tournament this coming weekend.

Mount St. Joseph (22-9, 6-1 HCAC) finished second at this past weekend's Illinois Wesleyan Invitational and saw its nine match win streak snapped in the championship match.  The Mount has secured the No. 2 seed and a first round bye at the conference tournament.  MSJ  closes the regular season tonight at Transylvania.

Hanover College (13-16, 5-2 HCAC) finished the weekend with a 1-3 mark at Hope and Calvin.  The Panthers defeated Transylvania earlier in the week to lock up the No. 3 seed in this weekend's HCAC tourney.  HC can close the regular season with five straight conference wins if the Panthers can defeat rival Franklin tonight.

Defiance, Rose-Hulman, and Anderson have clinched the remaining tournament spots.  Their seeds will be determined after tonight's contests.

For a complete recap of Week 9 in HCAC Volleyball, click here