The High Point University volleyball squad dropped a pair of matches on the opening day of the Catamount Clash V falling to Valparaiso (3-0) and tournament host Western Carolina (3-2).

The Panthers, 1-10 this season, played sluggish in their morning match with Valpo (6-5) before turning things around in the afternoon versus WCU (3-10).

HPU and Western Carolina played a back-and-forth affair as four of the five games were decided by three points or less. WCU grabbed the early advantage with a 30-28 game one victory only to see High Point rally with back-to-back 31-29 decisions. The Catamounts evened the match at two with a 30-18 win then edged out the Panthers, 15-12, in the final game.

Freshman outside hitter Audie Gonzalez and junior Jamie Kaufman both posted "20-20" performances for the Panthers. Gonzalez led HPU offensively 24 kills with Kaufman chipping in 20. The rookie from Peoria, Ariz., also finished with 20 digs while Kaufman added 21.

Sophomore Lauren Hatch, playing in the libero position for the first time this season, recorded a career best 32 digs to lead the High Point backrow defense. Sophomore setter Kristina Taylor finished with a 52 assist, 10 dig double-double in the loss. Senior Sabrina Wahid also reached double digit kills (10) and paced the HPU frontline with five blocks.

"We played hard, especially in the second match," said HPU head coach Chad Esposito. "The loss to WCU was a tough one to swallow for everyone because we had put ourselves in position to win the match. Our young team is still struggling a bit in finding a way to close out matches. We have lost three 5-gamers in our last seven matches. We just have to keep working."

In their opener, HPU struggled from the start in a 30-14, 30-25, 30-17 loss to Valparaiso. The Crusaders staked themselves to a 20-3 advantage in game one before the Panthers made a late charge.

The two squads played a fairly even contest in the second frame with neither squad holding a lead larger than three until the final score. Valpo regained the momentum in the third stanza using a strong offense and solid defense to earn the sweep.

Gonzalez and Wahid led HPU with six kills each while Hatch paced the defense with 13 digs.

"We just were never able to get in synch against Valparaiso," added Esposito. "We were inconsistent with our serve receive and that is something that has hurt us all season."

High Point closes out tournament action at the Catamount Clash at 11:30 a.m., on Saturday against Kent State.