SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The High Point University volleyball team begins its NCAA Tournament in Thursday's first round showdown against Purdue at 6:30 EST in Salt Lake City, Utah.
 
The Panthers (24-7) are in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season and just the third overall for the program. Meanwhile, the Boilermakers (22-9) 19th appearance and the program has never lost in the first round.
 
MATCH INFORMATION
Thurs., Nov. 30 | 6:30 EST | Purdue | Salt Lake City, Utah | Huntsmen Center
 
LINKS
Live Stats | Live Video | Tickets | NCAA Bracket | HPU Postseason Guide
 
PANTHER NOTES
A First-Time Feat
The Purple & White are the first team in Big South volleyball history and the first in HPU's Division I history to earn an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament.
 
Dancing Back-to-Back
High Point is in the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season for the first time in program history. This is the team's third berth overall joining the 2010 and 2016 squads – both of which won the Big South Tournament.
 
Winning Streak
Prior to the setback to Radford in the Big South Championship, the Panthers had on their last 19 matches, which was the longest streak for HPU since it moved to D-I competition in 1999.
 
Sweeping the Competition
Seventeen of High Point's 24 wins have come via a sweep. That dominance included a stretch of eight straight and 12 of 13 during the Big South slate.
 
All-Time Against the Big Ten
High Point and Purdue have never met in volleyball. In fact, HPU has only ever played one match against a Big Ten foe, a 3-1 setback to Indiana on Aug. 26, 2011.
 
Big South in the Big Dance
With Radford winning the automatic bid and HPU earning the league's first at-large berth, the conference will have two chances to pick up its first NCAA Tournament victory. Big South teams have won a total of four sets in 24 first-round matches, but have never forced a fifth set. The last set win came in 2015 when Coastal Carolina took a set from No. 16 Creighton.
 
Previous NCAA Tournament Appearances
Thursday's match will mark the first time the Panthers have played an unseeded team in the NCAA Tournament. The previous two matches were against No. 12 Duke and No. 7 North Carolina. In 2010, HPU was defeated 3-0 by Duke in Durham, N.C. before falling in three sets to the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, N.C. last fall.
 
All Over the All-Big South Teams
The Panthers picked up 11 all-conference awards at the end of its 16-0 campaign. Abby Bottomley (Freshman), Haley Barnes (Scholar-Athlete) and Tom Mendoza (Coach) led the way earning individual awards. Meanwhile, Molly Livingston joined Barnes and Bottomley on the league's first team as Katie Tylman made the second team and Jordan Hefner was honorable mention. Similarly, Katie Doering accompanied Bottomley on the all-freshman team and Barnes rounded out the accolades with an all-academic team nod.
 
Winning at Another Level
Among HPU's many accomplishments this season, the team became the program's first to notch 20 wins in three straight seasons. The 24 wins so far this season are tied for the second most since the program moved to the D-I level. Similarly, the team's 16-0 mark in Big South play was the league's 10th unblemished season, but the first during a 16-match campaign.
 
Tournament Repeaters
High Point joins Coastal Carolina (2014-15), Liberty (2007-08) and Winthrop (2002-06) as the fourth Big South Conference program to make consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
 
Record Versus NCAA Tournament Teams
The Panthers posted a 2-5 mark against squads that made the field with a 2-1 record against Radford and setbacks to Cal Poly, VCU, LSU and N.C. State.
 
New Single-Season Records
• Livingston is hitting .384 on the year - .060 higher than Lindsay Raus' HPU D-I single-season record.
 
• Bottomley is seven digs away from passing Julie Hershkowitz for the most digs by an HPU freshman entering the NCAA Tournament with 577 on the year.
 
• The team's .255 attack percentage would be the program's best mark surpassing the 2012 squad's mark of .224.
 
Career Marks
• Barnes' next kill will be the 1,400th of her illustrious career joining Jamie Kaufman as the only two D-I Panthers to reach that mark.
 
• Livingston is 11 blocks away from drawing even with Lindsay Raus for third in career blocks (314). Likewise, Jordan Hefner is just four behind Livingston entering the weekend with 299.
 
• Barnes has moved into the top-10 in HPU's Division I era in kills, kills per set, digs, aces, solo blocks, matches played and sets played. She is one of four D-I Panthers with 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs while adding 150 blocks and 144 aces.
 
NEXT UP
The winner of the match between High Point and Purdue will take on the winner of No. 11 Utah and Cleveland State on Friday at 7:00 p.m. EST.
 
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