Hanover Set to Host Competitive HCAC Volleyball Tournament
Tournament Program (click here)
GREENWOOD, IN- The 2011 HCAC volleyball tournament will be held this week, November 1, 5-6. Tuesday's opening round games will be played on the campus of the high seed, while the semifinals and championship will be played at Hanover. The Panthers claimed a share of their first conference championship since 2007 and earned the right to host the tournament.
Five teams tied for the HCAC title this season with 7-2 marks. Mount St. Joseph, Bluffton, Transylvania, and Rose-Hulman join the Panthers as regular season champions.
Hanover finished the season 19-10 overall and 7-2 in conference play, closing the regular season with a 9-3 record. Mount St. Joseph (12-18, 7-2 HCAC) earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament after a difficult tie-breaking process. Hanover and Mount earned a first-round bye after earning the top two seeds in the tournament and will play separate semifinal matches Saturday afternoon.
Action will get underway at 7:00 PM Tuesday evening as Defiance (14-15, 4-5 HCAC) earned the No. 6 seed and will face No. 3 Bluffton (20-10, 7-2 HCAC). The Beavers swept the Jackets 3-0 on October 26 in conference play. Bluffton closed the season with wins in four of their final five matches, while Defiance dropped six of eight down the stretch. The winner will advance on to play Mount St. Joseph at 5:00 PM Saturday evening at Hanover. The Lions posted a 3-2 win over Bluffton and handed Defiance a 3-1 defeat during the regular season.
Rose-Hulman (21-8, 7-2 HCAC), the No. 5 seed in the tourney, will take on No. 4 Transylvania (19-10, 7-2 HCAC) in the second opening round game at 7:30 PM Tuesday. Back on October 1, Transy defeated the Engineers 3-0 in Lexington. The Pioneers enter the tournament winning five of their last six matches. Rose-Hulman has been hot as of late, winning nine of its last 11 matches heading into the tournament. Hanover has the right to play the victor between the Engineers and Pioneers Saturday afternoon. The Panthers fell to Transylvania 3-1 and Rose-Hulman 3-2 during conference play.
Top seed Hanover's only defeats in its last eight matches were 3-0 sweeps by nationally ranked Eastern and Washington-St. Louis over the weekend. Mount St. Joseph enters the tournament after going 1-2 over the weekend at the highly competitive Washington-St. Louis Tournament. Hanover defeated MSJ 3-1 back in early October.
The championship match will be held on Sunday, November 6 at 1:00 PM. The tournament champion will earn the HCAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament that is slated to begin on Thursday, November 10.
