Box Score The High Point volleyball team dropped a hard-fought Big South Conference road match on Friday night at Coastal Carolina losing in four games with scores of 30-23, 21-30, 23-30, and 24-30.
With the loss, HPU slips to 11-10 overall and 2-4 in Big South action. The Lady Chanticleers are now 11-7 on the season and a perfect 6-0 in league play.
Sophomore Jamie Kaufman recorded her 13th double-double of the season finishing with a team-high 16 kills and 11 digs. Freshmen Ashley Mellott and Lindsay Raus along with junior Sabrina Wahid each chipped in 10 kills for the Panther offense. Senior Jenelle Stouffer and sophomore Whitney Kaltenegger both matched Kaufman's dig total posting 11, while Wahid paced the HPU frontline with seven blocks in the match.
"We played with a lot of effort and I felt like we definitely matched Coastal's intensity level," said HPU head coach Chad Esposito. "It is a disappointing loss but there were many positive aspects for us to build on as we get ready for the next match. I thought we played a solid overall match, we just made a few too many service errors. Those proved costly in a close match because they gave Coastal some free points."
In the first game, Coastal led 21-20 when High Point raced ahead with a nine point run winning the first game 30-23. In the second game, CCU led the Panthers for most of the frame and went on a three point spurt to close out the scoring in a 30-21 victory that evened the match.
The third game was a tough battle between the Lady Chants and the Panthers. Though Coastal maintained an edge throughout the stanza, High Point kept things close until a four point streak by CCU closed the scoring in a 30-23 decision. In the fourth and final game of the match, the Panthers grabbed an early advantage 13-10, but the Lady Chants answered with a five point streak and held on for the 30-24 win.
Katherine Jensen-Spencer led the way for the Lady Chanticleers with her 11th double-double of the season. Jensen-Spencer tallied 20 kills and 17 digs.
CCU tallied a total of nine team blocks while High Point tallied seven total team blocks. The Lady Chants hit an overall percentage of .292, while the Panthers hit at a .232 clip for the contest.
The Panthers continue their two-week road swing on Saturday, when HPU visits Big South foe Charleston Southern at 4 p.m.
