UNC Asheville rallied from a 2-1 deficit to claim a 3-2 win over High Point Tuesday night in Big South volleyball action in the Millis Center.

The Bulldogs improve to 17-14 (6-5 in Big South play), while the Panthers drop to 16-14 (5-6).

Both teams placed four players in double-figures in kills. Jamie Kaufman collected a match-high 22 kills for HPU, while Elif Unlu had 18 kills to lead UNCA.

Unlu (15 digs) and Talia Ogle (15 kills, 17 digs) each had double-doubles for the Bulldogs, who also got 12 kills from Allison Lambert. Setter Amanda Wiles (11 kills, 45 assists, nine digs) narrowly missed a triple-double.

For the Panthers, Lindsey Pickens (17 kills, 14 digs) and Michelle Feiser (54 assists, 12 digs) both tallied double-doubles. Ashley Johnson added 12 kills and Tara Mahoney 10 kills for HPU. Kim Anderson kept her 34-match streak with double-figure digs alive (a match-high 28 digs). 

After hitting .323 in the first three games, High Point hit just .081 in game four and .103 in the decisive game five. Meanwhile, UNCA hit .310 in both the fourth and fifth games.

"It's a very disappointing loss," HPU head coach Chad Esposito said. "We felt like we had them when we were up 2-1, but to Asheville's credit, they really hussled, stepped up and played well on defense. We came out flat in game four, and that carried over to game five. We finally woke up, but it was too little, too late.

"Kim had a great game and really provided leadership at times when needed it. She was consistent from start to finish."

Rose Butler had 15 digs and seven total blocks for the Bulldogs, who also got 14 digs from Megan Murphy.

"Our blocking led us down tonight," Esposito said. "We didn't execute the way we needed in order to shut down their hitters. Our defense was good at picking up tips, but inconsistent hitting in the last two games really cost us after we played so well for the first three."

The match was the first of three at home this week for the Panthers, who host North Carolina A&T on Wednesday (7:00 pm) and Birmingham-Southern on Saturday (2:00 pm).

"We know that every game is important now," Esposito said. "We're going to focus on our match tomorrow and then get ready for the rest of the schedule. We know we'll have to play hard from here on out."

UNC Asheville visits Winthrop at 7:00 pm Friday evening.