Stephanie Wallin and Ashley Mellott combined for 31 kills as High Point held off UNC Asheville on Friday evening for a 3-2 (22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 15-10) victory in the Big South Conference opener.
"It was a great win tonight, especially on the road in a hostile, in-conference environment," said High Point University head coach Chad Esposito. "Asheville came out completely on fire and we weathered that storm and were able to put together some quality runs especially in our middle. Stephanie Wallin was huge for us tonight especially in sets two and three."
Wallin recorded 16 kills and Mellott had 15 for the Panthers (11-3, 1-0 Big South). Lindsay Raus added 14. Kristina Taylor tallied 52 assists while Audie Gonzalez had 19 digs.
For the Bulldog (8-6, 0-1 Big South) Lauren Ficker had 19 kills and Cindi Miller added 10. Rachel Guinane notched 23 assists while Raquel Miotto had 17 digs.
Asheville took the first set, taking an early 14-6 lead over the Panthers. The Bulldogs held the lead throughout the set but High Point battled back in the final points to pull within two at 24-22. A kill from Ficker on the next rally would give the set to UNCA.
In the second set High Point led the entire match and took its largest lead at 23-17. Asheville battled back to pull within three at 23-20, but High Point closed out with back-to-back kills from Wallin.
High Point led for most of the third set, but Asheville rallied and took a late lead at 23-22. High Point got kills from Mellott and Raus to take the 2-1 set advantage.
In the fourth set Asheville held on to the lead over the opening points, but HPU pulled ahead and went up 17-14 off a kill from Wallin. Asheville would not go away and retook the lead at 23-19. HPU and UNCA traded points, but a kill from Ficker on the final rally helped the Bulldogs knot the set at two each.
High Point dominated the fifth set and led by as many seven at 11-4. Asheville cut the lead to four at 14-10, but it was too late as an error by UNCA on the next possession would give the match to the Panthers.
"We took control of the fifth set early and never looked back," Esposito said. "Anytime you can go in the conference and pick up a big win like this on the road it's just a sign of great mental toughness. I was really proud of the way our girls responded in the face of adversity. Asheville is a very good team and played very well tonight and it was great to see that we were able to overcome them and come away with a victory. We are going to try to keep our momentum as we head into Presbyterian tomorrow. "
The Panthers will face Presbyterian on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in Clinton, S.C.
