The High Point University volleyball team tallied an impressive 3-1 (30-27, 30-26, 25-30, 30-26) victory on the road over UNC Asheville in Big South Conference play on Friday night at the Justice Center.

HPU improved to 12-6 overall and 2-2 in league play with their third straight four-game victory. The win also extended the Panther's win streak against in-state opponents to eight matches. Asheville fell to 6-14 on the year and 0-3 in the Big South.

"It is always exciting to earn a win on the road," said HPU head coach Chad Esposito, "But, to get a conference road victory is even better. Tonight we got a strong overall team performance. We played pretty consistently for the most part and really got a determined effort from start to finish."

Sophomore Audie Gonzalez  (pictured) paced the Panthers in the match finishing with a 12-kill, 19-dig double-double performance, marking her 10th this season. Junior Ashley Mellott topped the list of HPU attackers with 15 kills while Lindsay Raus and Ashley Johnson chipped in 13 and 11 kills, respectively. Raus (7) and Johnson (6) also combined for 13 block assists in the match.

Junior setter Kristina Taylor topped the 50-assist mark for the seventh time this year finishing with 51 while freshman libero Julie Hershkowitz posted another double-digit dig outing with 17.

UNC Asheville got 15 kills each from Alysha Greer and Kelsey Benorden on offense and a match-best 29 digs by Raquel Miotto.

The opening game was a back-and-forth battle with neither team owning more than a four-point advantage. High Point used a three-point string to break open a 22-22 tie and move forward for the game one win.

The Panthers carried the winning momentum into game two seizing a quick 10-3 lead. HPU maintained a comfortable lead for most of the frame, but Asheville was able to close the deficit to a single point, 23-22. High Point scored the next three points to thwart the rally and then held on to take a 2-0 match lead.

Asheville took advantage of poor hitting (.056) and inconsistent passing by High Point to earn the game three win. The Bulldogs led the entire game and built an advantage as large as six points before winning by five.

HPU regrouped to start game four and pushed in front by a count of 8-2. The Panthers kept the pressure on for the remainder of the game as UNC Asheville would get no closer than two points after a scoring surge midway through play. High Point played solid sideout volleyball down the stretch to preserve the victory.

High Point continues its weekend road swing on Saturday when the Panthers visit future Big South opponent Presbyterian at 4 p.m., in Clinton, S.C.