Down two sets, the High Point University volleyball team came back to win the next three to defeat Davidson 3-2 (22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-12) on Saturday afternoon at the University at Buffalo Classic.

"I'm so proud of our team to be able to come up here and win this tournament," said HPU head coach Chad Esposito. "We were determined before we left to come up here and win this tournament. I was proud of the way we responded especially with the Davidson match today being down 0-2. To be able to come back it was a tremendous accomplishment for our team. It shows how much heart we play with and how hard we work."

­Ashley Mellot led the Panthers (10-2) with 13 kills while Lindsay Raus added 12. Kristina Taylor notched 40 assists. Audie Gonzalez and Julie Hershkowitz had 24 and 21 digs, respectively.

For the Wildcats (4-7) Sarabeth Peele led the way with 16 kills, Christina Perzinski had 11 kills and Madison Benedict added 10. Hayley Lawson had 41 assists while Jennifer Chamblee had 25 digs.

Davidson led much of the opening set and led by as many as eight (17-9), but the Panthers closed the gap with a 10-4 run to pull within two at 21-19. The Wildcats held on though to take the 1-0 set advantage in the match.

In the second set, Davidson again took a quick lead and led by 19-12 before High Point responded with a 12-4 run to close the gap to 23-22, but the Panthers were unable to overcome the Wildcats as Davidson took the 2-0 lead.

High Point came out strong in the third set and took its largest lead of the game at 20-13 off a kill from Stephanie Wallin. The Wildcats fought back to pull within three at 24-21, but a kill from Taylor would seal the win for the Panthers.

In the fourth frame High Point took a quick 10-4 lead. Davidson never got close as HPU led by as many as 12 (22-10) at one point. The Panthers cruised to the 25-15 win to knot the match at two sets each and force set five.

High Point scored the first four points in the fifth set before Davidson got on the board with a kill from Perzinski. The Panthers got possession back on the next serve and went on an 8-3 run to take a 12-3 advantage, Davidson battled back though with a run of its own to close the gap to two at 13-11, but High Point secured the match with a kill from Raus on the final point.

"We hung in there and weathered the storm and were able to turn it around," Esposito said. "We kept grinding and finally were able to get to the point where we were better on our serve receive and really allowed our blocking and defense to take over. So excited that we were able to come up and win a tournament and to do it in the fashion we did against Davidson. These girls are resilient. In the face of adversity they will find a way to win. That is a tremendous asset to have on a team. "

Raus was named the tournament MVP while Taylor and Gonzalez each earned a spot on the All-Tournament team.

The Panthers will be back in action on Wednesday, Sept. 24 when they travel to Elon for a 7:00 p.m. match.