Box Score Overcoming a slow start, the High Point volleyball team rallied for an historic 3-1 Big South Conference road victory (24-30, 30-26, 30-18, 38-36), over Liberty on Friday evening at the Vines Center.
With the win, HPU improved to 9-6 (1-1 Big South) on the year and spoiled the Lady Flames home Big South opener. The loss dropped Liberty to 5-10 (1-1 Big South). The victory marked the first time High Point has beat Liberty at the Vines Center and only the second all-time program win for the Panthers over the Lady Flames.
"This is a very proud and exciting moment for HPU volleyball," said Panther head coach Chad Esposito. "This is a great win not only for this team but also our program. We had a well-balanced performance both offensively and defensively. This young group continues to impress me with their dedication and resiliency. It was great to capture a huge win on the road in conference play in front of a vocal and hostile crowd. This is the type of experience that will continue the maturing process of this team."
In the opening game of the match, neither team could gain much of an advantage in the beginning until Liberty used two-straight services aces an attack error by the Panthers to open up a three-point lead, 16-13, one that the Lady Flames would never relinquish.
Liberty finished the game on an 11-6 run to claim the opening game victory, 30-24, aided by a strong .444 hitting percentage. High Point was able to keep the match close thanks in part to six services aces in the frame.
The Lady Flames seemed to be cruising in the second game victory as Liberty scored nine of the game's first 10 points, but the Panthers clawed their way back into the game by reeling off a 12-4 run, tying the game at 13-13 on a Jamie Kaufman kill.
Liberty answered back by scoring the next three points momentarily reclaiming the lead, but HPU turned up the defensive pressure forcing LU into three-straight attack errors which allowed the Panthers to claim the lead for good and never look back en route to a 30-26 win to even the overall match at one game apiece.
The opening of the third game remained close with the two teams trading the first 12 points of the game with a Michelle Feiser kill knotting the score at 6-6, but High Point soon took control of the game using a 9-1 run and connecting at a .391 team game hitting percentage to claim the easy 30-18 victory.
Neither team could gain a sizeable lead in the fourth and decisive game, but the Panthers took advantage of a service error and an attack error by the Lady Flames and a kill by Kaufman to grab up an 8-4 lead. The Panthers maintained a slight lead over most of the match until Liberty finally rallied to even the count at 27-27.
The two teams traded points back and forth over the next 18 plays until back-to-back kills by Lindsay Raus and Feiser ended the see-saw battle allowing the Panthers to walk away with the decisive 38-36 victory. Both squads had their chances to earn the win as HPU staved off four game point opportunities for the Lady Flames down the stretch.
For the match, Feiser paced the Panthers with 17 kills, 28 assists and a .481 hitting percentage, while Kaufman and Ashley Mellott added 13 and 10 kills each. Lauren Hatch added 18 assists and 11 digs, while Whitney Kaltenegger chipped in with 11 digs. The Panthers finished the match with a .290 hitting percentage and 11 service aces.
Liberty was led by Jessica Nelson's 17 kills, while Autum Poorman tallied 12 kills and a .348 hitting percentage. Lara Bartolomeo led Liberty with 47 assists and nine digs, while Allison Hallock paced the team with 12 digs.
The Panthers will conclude their two match Big South road swing through Virginia on Saturday with a 4 p.m. match at Radford.
