High Point won its first Big South match of the 2002 season and its third straight match over rival Elon Friday night with a grueling 3-2 victory over the visiting Phoenix at the Millis Center.

The Panthers improve to 3-16 (1-4 in the Big South). Elon falls to 5-16, 1-3 in the league.

Kimberly Wright led all players with a whopping 28 kills and a team-high 13 digs. Kamarsha Ryan added 24 kills and freshman Heather Brooks 13 kills with a solid .750 hitting percentage for HPU.

Elon had four players in double-figures in kills, led by Emily Hayes's 18 and Laura Griffin's 14.

HPU took the opening game, 30-26, but Elon battled back to even the match by grabbing Game 2, 30-20. The momentum looked to be shifting when the Phoenix climbed out of a 29-25 hole to take the final six points of Game 3 and go up 2-1.

But the Panthers rallied behind Wright and Ryan to steal Game 4, built a lead in Game 5, and held on for their first home win of the season.

Jaime Kutz had 67 assists for the Panthers, while Maria LaBrutto collected 16 digs and five blocks for Elon in a losing effort.

Both teams hit the road on Tuesday. Elon travels to Liberty, while High Point heads to campbell for a non-conference tilt. The matches start at 7:00 pm.