GREENWOOD, IN – The Hanover College volleyball team has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2012 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. In a poll of the ten HCAC head coaches, the Panthers received a total of 88 points and two first place votes.

TransylvaniaUniversity placed second in the poll with 83 points and three first place votes, while Bluffton University is picked to finish third in the conference standings this fall with 76 points and two first place votes.  The College of Mount St. Joseph (74 points, one first place vote), Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (71, two first place votes), Defiance College (48), Anderson University (38), Manchester University (35), Franklin College (26), and Earlham College (11) round out the poll.

The Panthers are coming off a 19-11 season and 7-2 conference record in 2011, claiming a share of the conference championship. Hanover fell in the HCAC Tournament semifinals to Rose-Hulman, ending their season.

Coach Preocanin’s Panthers look to be a formidable opponent once again in a highly competitive HCAC.  Hanover returns two All-HCAC honorable mention selections and the HCAC Most Valuable Defensive Player, after losing the conference’s Most Valuable Player (Abby Merritt) to graduation.  Junior libero Kylie Justus (Crawfordsville, Ind./H.S.) returns to lead the Panthers effort after earning defensive MVP honors last fall.  Stacey Sorgius (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) and Sarah Quebe (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) will look to pace the HC offense.

Justus saw action in 27 matches last year, recording a league-high 5.92 digs per set.  Sorgius led the team with 817 assists in 2011, while Quebe contributed 212 kills and a team-high 92 total blocks.

TransylvaniaUniversity finished alongside Hanover in a five-way tie at the top of the standings last season with a 7-2 conference mark and a 19-11 record overall.  The Pioneers will look to contend for their third straight conference title behind junior Meghan Bowers (Louisville, Ky./Presentation) and sophomore Lauren Ketron (Mason, Ohio/William Mason).  Bowers earned First-Team All-HCAC honors last season, ranking among the conference leaders in hitting percentage (.263) and kills (2.59 per set).  Ketron was named All-HCAC honorable mention in 2011, adding 283 kills and 36 total blocks.

BlufftonUniversitywas part of the five-way tie for first last fall with a 7-2 conference record and held an overall mark of 22-11.  The Beavers lost three All-HCAC players to graduation, but return All-HCAC honorable mention member Heather Schierer (Crescent Springs, Ky./St. Henry) to the squad.  Schierer contributed a team-high 582 digs as a junior last fall.

The 2012 volleyball season is scheduled to open on August 31.

Players to Watch

For more information on the 2012 HCAC volleyball season and up-to-date scores and statistics, please visit the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference website at www.heartlandconf.org. 

Also follow the HCAC on Twitter and Facebook throughout the 2012 season!

Twitter: @HCACDIII  Facebook: www.facebook.com/HCACDIII