Women's Volleyball | 11/13/2026 4:43:00 PM
RICHMOND, Ind. – Earlham College volleyball team is set to host the HCAC Championship for a second consecutive season in Druley Performance Gym this weekend.
THE TEAMS
The Quakers finished the regular season as the No.1 seed in the conference for the third time in six seasons with an 8-1 HCAC record. Earlham's lone conference loss came after a five-set battle with Manchester on the final day of the regular season.
Hanover College earned the No.2 seed in the tournament with a 7-2 conference record. The Panthers were led by HCAC Player of the Year Abbey McCoy, who scored 385 kills with a .244 hitting percentage and 49 aces in the regular season. Defensively, McCoy adds 256 digs and 324 blocks to the team. Hitters Ryleigh Plunkitt and Molly Welborn also placed on the first team, while Hanover libero Madison Schicker placed on the second team.
Franklin College comes to Richmond as the third seed in the tournament with a 7-2 record. The Grizzlies placed fourth athletes on the All-HCAC teams, including hitters McKenzie Schroeder and Avery Smith. The Grizzlies also earned recognition for setter Brionna Linkel and blocker Lauren Kinsey.
Finally, Manchester University will represent the No.4 seed in the tournament. The Spartans finished with a regular season record of 7-2 after giving Earlham its only loss of the conference schedule in the final day of competition. Manchester is home to the HCAC Newcomer of the Year Alicia Simmons, an outside hitter from Kansas. Manchester also placed setter Morgan Howard and blocker Lily Lichtenbarger on the first team All-HCAC.
THE PLAYERS
Four Quakers were selected as All-HCAC following the completion of the regular season.
Madison Bizjak repeated as Defensive Player of the Year in the conference after a record-breaking season. Bizjak leads the Quakers with 576 digs (5.19 digs/set) while posting a reception percentage of .960. Bizjak also earned a spot on the first team All-HCAC as a libero. Offensively, Bizjak has served up 35 aces. The senior is the Earlham career digs leader, and surpassed 2,000 career digs on Wednesday in the Quarterfinal.
Caylee Brandes led the Quaker offense to land a spot on the first team All-HCAC as an outside hitter. Brandes posted 383 kills with a .253 attack percentage. She also is among the team leaders in blocks with 44. This is Brandes' third career first team recognition.
Sadie Mae Calma was named to the first team All-HCAC as well as the newcomer team for her efforts all across the court as a freshman. Calma serves as both a hitter and a setter in the Quaker rotation, playing all six spots. In the front, Calma has scored 292 kills with a .196 hitting percentage and 41 blocks. In the back, she has dished out 397 assists with 242 digs and 18 aces. Calma has scored six triple doubles.
Rounding out the honorees,
Addison Piatt earned second team honors. The junior played all through the rotation, scoring 185 kills with 14 blocks. In the back row Piatt has collected 310 digs with a .966 reception percentage over a team-high 551 attempts. Piatt also leads the team in service aces with 41.
In addition,
Lauren Horton was named HCAC Coach of the Year for the second straight season.
THE SCHEDULE
Earlham is slated to take on Manchester on Saturday at 2 pm in Druley Performance Gym to open the Championship Weekend. Hanover and Franklin will then play at 5 pm in the other semifinals matchup.
The winning teams will then do battle on Sunday at 1 pm in Druley Performance Gym for the HCAC Championship.
HOW TO FOLLOW
goearlham.com will have up-to-the minute information on schedule cancelations and alterations all season long. Additionally, links for live video and live stats will be published as they become available.
