Box Score The High Point University volleyball team dropped a hard-fought 3-1 loss at Birmingham-Southern on Tuesday night in the quarterfinal round of the Big South Conference Volleyball Championship Tournament.
Despite winning the opening game and getting solid performances from several players the fifth-seeded HPU Panthers (16-17) had their season come to an end falling just short in a tough battle with the fourth-seeded BSC Panthers (14-14). Birmingham-Southern captured all three meetings against High Point this year.
"I am disappointed with the outcome but I couldn't be more proud of the effort my team gave tonight," said HPU head coach Chad Esposito. "It was a very intensely played match and neither team deserved to lose. We left everything out on the floor and that is all I can ask from the players. We played with more passion and desire tonight than in any other match all season. It was a great overall team effort, but we just came up on the short end of the score. I hate it has to end this way for our seniors. I think this season was definitely another successful building block for our program."
Senior Michelle Feiser tallied a triple-double in her final match for HPU finishing with 12 kills, 28 assists and 18 digs. It marked a league-leading 10th triple-double of the year for the setter/outside hitter. Panther sophomore Jamie Kaufman came up one kill shy of her second "20-20" performance of the season recording 19 kills and 24 digs on the night.
Five High Point defenders reached double-digit digs as the HPU defense averaged 24 digs per game en route to finishing the match with 96. In addition to Feiser and Kaufman's totals, senior Jenelle Stouffer (16), sophomore Whitney Kaltenegger (12) and freshman Lauren Hatch (11) all totaled in double figures.
Birmingham-Southern jumped in front quickly taking a 10-1 lead to start game one. High Point battled back and after a 9-1 run of its own, led the frame by a 20-17 count. HPU continued to build its momentum pushing in front by six, 27-21, before closing out the game for the 30-24 win.
The HPU Panthers again started slowly in game two falling behind 7-0, but this time BSC maintained control of play as they extended their lead to double figures. Birmingham-Southern even the match score at one with a 30-18 victory.
Game three featured scoring spurts by both teams. High Point strung together five consecutive points for a 13-10 edge, before Birmingham-Southern answered with a 9-1 run to regain the lead 19-14. HPU clawed its way back and knotted the score at 20 as the two squads settled into a side-out contest. BSC was able to score the final three points to grab the 30-26 decision.
The fourth game was evenly played through several of the opening rotations. With the score tied at 10, Birmingham-Southern seized an advantage following a 9-2 surge. HPU made a final push scoring seven of the next eight points to pull to within one at 20-19, but could get no closer as BSC held on for the 30-27 win.
Lillian Henderson (19 kills) and Jana Smelley (18 kills) led the way offensively for BSC, while Lindsay Herzog's 21 digs paced the Panther's defense.
Birmingham-Southern now travels to Conway, S.C., to face top-seeded Winthrop at 2 p.m. in one of Saturday's Big South Conference semifinal matches. No. 2 Coastal Carolina and No. 3 UNC Asheville square off in the other semifinal at 5 p.m. The conference championship match will be played at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
