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Four Panthers put up double-digit kills to lead the High Point University volleyball team to a five-set win over Radford Saturday at the Millis Center. Junior Jamie McDonald had 11 kills and seven blocks for HPU in the 3-2 (25-14, 18-25, 29-27, 22-25, 15-9) win.

“Today we showed resiliency and that we learned from the losses earlier in the season,” said head coach Jason Oliver. “This is the type of tough, scrappy game we lost early in the year but today we didn't quit and kept finding ways to score. Our upperclassmen stepped up and made plays when it counted.”

Junior Courtney Johnk led the team with 14 kills while adding 11 digs and three blocks. McDonald hit .333 with career highs in kills, 11, and blocks, seven. Chelsea Davis and Kristin Heldt added 10 kills each and Davis came up with 14 digs in the win. Molly Barlow posted a career high 24 digs, topping the career-best 20 she put up against Liberty on Friday. Lauren Bell had a double-double with 37 assists and 12 digs.

The Panthers outhit Radford .423 to .032 in the first set, rolling to a 25-14 win. McDonald was dominant in the middle putting down five kills on six swings for a .833 attack percentage. The Panther's defense was solid in the frame as well, coming up with 16 digs while Radford only came up with eight. Breanna Holliday had five of her 12 digs in the first set.

Radford came back with a win in the second set, 25-18. The Highlanders took a 12-11 lead on a kill by Carly Fleming and held the advantage for the rest of the set. HPU cut the lead to one at 17-18 on a kill by Davis. RU sided out on a Johnk service error and went on to win the set 25-18.  Both teams put down 10 kills in the set but HPU had three more attack errors than Radford and two more service errors.

HPU pulled off a late comeback in the third set to win it 29-27. The Highlanders had set point three times in the match but HPU was able to fight it off each time, taking a 28-27 lead on a kill by Davis. Bell won the set for HPU on a setter dump to the back corner that fell just in bounds.

The match was evened 2-2 when Radford came from behind to win set four 25-22. The Highlanders tied the match 20-20 when Fleming and Jesse Miedema blocked an attack by McDonald. Fleming put down a kills to give RU the lead before McDonald knotted the score again with a kill of her own. Radford rattled off three straight points to bring up set point 24-22.  Johnk's 10th kill of the day kept HPU alive but she hit the next ball out of bounds and Radford won the set 25-22.

Johnk had four of HPU's eight kills in the final set, leading HPU to the 15-9 win. The Panthers held RU to a .000 attack percentage in the final frame, coming up with two blocks. Davis had two kills in the final three plays for HPU.

Michelle Chakirelis came off the bench in the final three sets to hit .417 with six kills and one block.

The Panthers improve to 3-2 in Big South action while Radford drops to 2-3. The Panthers four-game home stand continues next Friday with a 7 p.m. match against Presbyterian College.