High Point got a record-setting performance from sophomore libero Lauren Hatch but came up just short in a 3-2 (31-29, 25-30, 30-26, 20-30, 7-15) loss at Birmingham-Southern on Saturday afternoon in Bill Battle Coliseum.

Hatch, a native of Powell, Ohio, tallied a career best 40 digs on the night for High Point. Her total was the most by a High Point player or any other player in the Big South Conference this season.

With the loss, HPU slipped to 6-17 overall and 4-4 in Big South play, while Birmingham-Southern moved to 8-13 overall and 5-3 in the Conference.

"I thought we played well for much of the match," said HPU head coach Chad Esposito. "This was a good match for us, but we were just not able to finish things off. We struggled with some inconsistent play at inopportune times that allowed a few games to slip away. Both teams played well enough to win, but unfortunately we came out on the short end. We have to build on the positive things and put the outcome behind us because we have another important match on Sunday."

Game one started out closely until the 11-11 mark, after which High Point scored four straight points to go up, 15-11. BSC put two more points on the board before HPU rattled off five more to take a 20-13 lead. BSC answered back with a 6-0 run of its own to close the gap to 20-19, and neither team led by more than two for the duration, with High Point eventually winning, 31-29.

BSC answered back in game two by going up 9-2 to start the game and led by as much as 13 at the 24-11 mark. After that, High Point came alive, using a 9-2 run to bring the score to 26-20. BSC scored two more points to go up 28-20 before HPU went on a 5-1 run to bring the score to 29-25, after which BSC won, 30-25.

High Point started game three with a 5-0 lead and kept their advantage until BSC tied it up at 8-8. The score remained close after that until, with BSC holding a 20-18 lead, HPU went on an 8-1 run to go up, 26-21. BSC closed the gap to 26-23, and came as close as 28-26 down the stretch, but High Point scored the last two points to win, 30-26.

BSC responded once again in game four, jumping out to a 12-5 lead to begin the game and then expanding the lead to 16-8 and then 19-10 and 21-12 before High Point used a 5-2 run to cut BSC's lead to six, 23-17. BSC went 7-3 down the stretch to win, 30-20, and send the match to a deciding fifth game.

High Point led 3-2 in the opening points of the final frame, but BSC took over with a 6-1 run to go up, 8-4. HPU put two more points on the board, cutting the lead to 8-6, before BSC went on a 7-1 run to end the game, 15-7, and the match.

Junior Jamie Kaufman and freshman Audie Gonzalez led High Point with 18 kills each, and both also recorded double-doubles with 20 and 16 digs, respectively. Junior Ashley Johnson was also in double digits with 11 kills. Sophomore setter Kristina Taylor posted a double-double with 52 assists and 25 digs, while freshman Tara Dyer was also in double digits with 19 digs. Johnson led the team with four block assists and one solo block.

Three Birmingham-Southern players recorded double-doubles, including a 24-kill, 24-dig performance from Sarah Harris. Michelle Maciejewski was also in double digit kills with 15 and posted her eighth double-double of the year with 22 digs, while setter Milica Stojanovic recorded her second straight 60-assist match with an even 60, and 20 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Casey Demos posted 14 kills and led the team at the net with seven block assists, and libero Alex Norten recorded a team-high 33 digs. Andra Krautmanis and Morgan Anderson also posted double-digit digs with 13 and 12, respectively.

BSC hit .174 for the match with 68 kills and 10 blocks, while High Point hit .114 with 64 kills and seven blocks. HPU finished with a season-best 130 digs, marking the fourth time this season they have eclipsed the century mark.

High Point concludes its weekend Big South road trip on Sunday with a match at in-state rival UNC Asheville at 2 p.m. The HPU-UNCA contest is slated to be shown via video stream on the Big South website (www.bigsouthsports.com) by clicking on "The Edge".