The High Point University volleyball team made some history on Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 (30-22, 26-30, 30-17, 30-25) win over Charleston Southern at the CSU Fieldhouse.

The win marked the Panthers (16-6 overall, 4-2 Big South) seventh consecutive victory establishing a new program Division I record. High Point's 16 wins this year are also just one shy of the program's Division I season benchmark of 17 victories set in 2004. Charleston Southern falls to 8-13 and 1-5 after the loss.

Junior Ashley Mellott and sophomore Audie Gonzalez shared the team honors with 16 kills each. Gonzalez added 15 digs to tally her team-leading 13th double-double. Freshman libero Julie Hershkowitz paced a quartet of HPU defenders in double-digits with 16 digs followed by 15 from Tara Dyer and 13 by Lauren Hatch.

"We are very excited to have earned a Big South weekend sweep on the road," said HPU head coach Chad Esposito. "Our team was very focused today and had a very businesslike attitude during the match. I felt the real key for us today was our strong blocking performance. We are playing with a tremendous amount of confidence right now. I am proud of how this group just continues to find ways to win matches."

The Panther frontline corps finished with 11 team blocks and limited CSU hitters to just a .056 hitting percentage for the match. Junior Lindsay Raus and freshman Anna Lott both tallied five blocks in the contest while senior Ashley Johnson added four blocks to go along with nine kills.

The two squads fought nip-and-tuck through much of the opening frame. With a one point lead at 18-17, High Point seized control of the game on the strength of a 10-2 run, that included a string of six straight points. HPU carried the momentum on for an eight-point victory.

Charleston Southern used a 9-0 spurt early in game two to grab a 15-6 advantage. CSU maintained a double-digit lead until High Point mounted a charge behind an 8-1 run to close their deficit to just three at 26-23. The Lady Bucs were able to regroup and make enough plays to hold on for the match-tying win.

High Point opened up a 21-11 lead following a 10-1 surge midway through the third game. HPU then traded sideouts with CSU en route to the decisive double-digit win.

Game four saw the Panthers and Lady Bucs battle back-and-forth until High Point broke open a 14-14 tie with a 6-1 scoring spree. Charelston Southern could get no closer than two points the remainder of the game as HPU earned the win and weekend sweep of the Big South's "Beach Trip".

Amanda Hill finished with 20 kills and 19 digs to lead Charleston Southern. CSU also got a double-double of 14 kills, 10 digs from Renea Popovich and match-high 25 digs from Ashlee Kadatz.

HPU will conclude its current three-match road trip at Savannah State on Monday at 7 p.m.