HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University volleyball team entertains Radford on Saturday at 2 p.m. in a battle of the Big South's only two undefeated teams in league play.
MATCH INFORMATION:
Sat., Sept. 30 | Radford | High Point, N.C. |
Live Stats |
Live Stream
PANTHER NOTES:
Off to a Fast Start
• The Panthers are 3-0 in Big South action for the first time since 2008 when the team won its first nine matches en route to a 13-3 finish.
• High Point boasts a .688 winning percentage in the first set and a .813 mark coming out of the intermission for the third. However, in the second, fourth and fifth sets the team has won at just a .433 clip.
Enjoying the Home Cookin'
The Purple & White are 12-4 against Big South opponents inside the Millis Center during the last two seasons.
Acing the Test
• The Panthers are 12th in the nation and lead the Big South with 100 aces on the year.
• Senior
Haley Barnes ranks 11th nationally with 29 aces while junior
Molly Livingston has 20, which is good for 82nd in America.
• The team has season-highs in each of the last two matches with 11 aces at Charleston Southern before breaking that mark with 14 on Tuesday at Campbell in just three sets.
Diggin' College
Freshman
Abby Bottomley is 29th nationally and sixth among freshmen with 5.19 digs per set. The Virginia Beach, Va. native leads the league in digs and is the reigning Big South Defensive Player of the Week.
Decorated Outsides Go Head-To-Head
• Barnes (26th) and Radford's Maddie Palmer (19th) both rank in the top-30 in career kills among active players nationally and are the top-two active attackers in the Big South.
• Barnes (2016) and Palmer (2017) represent the Big South Preseason Players of the Year from the past two falls. Meanwhile, Palmer was the 2016 Big South Player of the Year, but Barnes picked up Big South Tournament MVP honors.
Doubling Up in Big South Play
Barnes has recorded a double-double in 22 of her 33 Big South matches since the beginning of her sophomore season.
Big South's Giant Killers
Big South teams have earned five wins over Power-Five programs this season with all of them coming from Radford (Arizona, South Carolina and Virginia Tech) and High Point (Georgia and Oklahoma).
KNOW THE ENEMY:
All-Time Series against Radford
| All-Time Series |
HPU leads 21-19 |
| Big South Series |
Tied 18-18 |
| Series at High Point |
HPU leads 11-7 |
Last Time They Met
The Panthers earned a 3-1 triumph over the Highlanders in the Big South Championship at Liberty on Nov. 20, 2016. In that match, Barnes went off for 20 kills, 10 digs and four aces to earn Tournament MVP honors.
Scouting the Highlanders
Radford is ranked No. 24 in the Volleyball Magazine Mid-Major Top 25 and carries a 12-1 overall record and a 2-0 Big South mark into the weekend. The Highlanders will open their weekend at Campbell on Friday night before continuing on to High Point. The squad is led by 2016 Big South Player of the Year Maddie Palmer who paces the team in kills (3.84/set) and digs (3.06/set).
NEXT UP
HPU is right back on the road next weekend when it heads to Presbyterian on Friday and Gardner-Webb on Saturday.
#GoHPU
