High Point remained a perfect 11-0 against in-state opponents following a 3-0 (33-31, 30-23, 30-18) sweep over Triad-rival North Carolina A&T on Monday night in volleyball action at the Corbett Sports Center.

The Panthers, who improved to 21-7 overall with the win, concluded the road portion of their 2007 schedule with a 9-3 record away from the Millis Center. The Aggies slip to 4-22 on the year after having their two-match win streak snapped.

"We are pleased to get this road win against a tough local opponent," said HPU head coach Chad Esposito. "We fought through some sluggish play early and finally settled down to earn the win. I thought our offense was very efficient tonight especially in sideout opportunities. It was great to get more players a chance to earn valuable match experience as we head down the stretch of the regular season."

Senior Jamie Kaufman finished with 13 kills to lead a balanced HPU offensive attack that saw the Panthers post a .307 hitting percentage as a team for the match. Junior Ashley Mellott connected at a .556 clip finishing with 12 kills and just two hitting miscues.

Sophomore Audie Gonzalez contributed eight kills and 11 digs and freshman Stephanie Wallin added seven kills and three blocks in the victory. Fellow freshman Julie Hershkowitz led the Panther defense with 12 digs. Junior setter Kristina Taylor had 39 assists and 11 digs in recording her 14th double-double of the season

The Aggies were led on offense by Aundia Gray's 16 kills and defensively by 19 digs from Stacey Malone. Brenden Chatman handed out 31 assists in becoming the program's all-time career leader in assists.

High Point used an early 11-2 run to grab a 14-5 lead in game one. A&T slowly climbed back into the game and eventually tied the score at 24 following a 5-1 run of their own. The Aggies moved in front by one, 29-28, and served for the game but HPU answered with the next two points to regain the lead. The Panthers then forced back-to-back Aggie errors just moments later to earn the slight 33-31 victory.

After scoring the first four points of the second frame, HPU and A&T played a very hotly contested game until a five-point surge by the Panthers opened up a 23-17 advantage. High Point would maintain their comfortable lead en route to earning the 30-23 win in game two.

HPU used several multiple-point runs in the third stanza including a pair of 5-0 surges to seize control of the momentum. The Panthers built a double-digit lead as they cruised to the match sweep with a 30-18 win in the deciding game.

The Panthers will now close the regular season with a string of four consecutive home tilts beginning this weekend with key Big South Conference match-ups against Coastal Carolina (Saturday, 2 p.m.) and Charleston Southern (Sunday, 2 p.m.).