Site: High Point, N.C. (Millis Center)
Score: High Point 3, UNC Asheville 0 (27-25, 25-18, 25-22)
Records: HPU: 15-9 (7-1 Big South), AVL: 9-9 (3-4 Big South)
 
Next HPU Event: Saturday, Oct. 26 -- vs. USC Upstate (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 2 p.m.
 
HIGH POINT, N.C. -- A pair of freshmen had double-digit kills to lead the High Point University volleyball team to its second consecutive win in straight sets with a 3-0 win over UNC Asheville on Friday (Oct. 25). Maggie Salley led the team with a career-high 16 kills while Megan Kratzer added 11.
 
"The great thing about this team is that they fight hard," head coach Ryan Meek said of his team's performance. "We worked a lot this week in practice, Tuesday we weren't great, Wednesday and Thursday we had really good practices and this morning I thought we weren't really focused but any sweep in conference play you're going to take and we found a way to get it done without playing our best."
 
The first set was the best offensive set for the team as the Panthers hit .279 to open the match, the only set HPU hit above .100. High Point trailed for most of the set but came back to knot it up at 17-17 on a service ace from junior Abby Bottomley, one of her team-leading three on the night. The Panthers kept the rest of the set close and a run of two kills from Salley and another Bottomley ace closed the set out in favor of the Purple and White, 27-25. Salley was especially effective in the opening set, picking up seven kills, including the match's first point.
 
Kratzer started the middle set with a service ace before the Bulldogs took a small lead. The set remained close until High Point went on a seven-point run on sophomore Mackenzi Thornburg's serve making it 19-13. Salley tacked on two more kills and a block assist during the run and classmate Sopheea Mink picked up a pair of kills as well. The closest Asheville got after the run was three points as a four-point run from the Panthers coming directly behind an HPU timeout ended the set, 25-18.
 
Asheville had a hot start to the third set, picking up the first five points of the frame. High Point answered right back with a four-point run, including Bottomley's third and final ace of the night. The lead changed hands four times before the Bulldogs opened a 19-15 lead and looked to send the match to a fourth set. A Panther timeout seemed to change the momentum of the set, as High Point picked up five of the next eight points to make it a one-point set and force Asheville to call a timeout of its own. The Bulldogs weren't able to get the same momentum swing as HPU as the Panthers won five of the next six, with a run of six straight, to come from behind to take the set 25-22 for the sweep.
 
"I think we're now we're finding our confidence a little bit," Meek said of High Point's comebacks in sets one and three. "I think now when we get down two or three points we're not scared anymore and we're not worried about what's going to go wrong. We're seeing more players on the team stepping up to make that play."
 
HPU is back on the hardwood tomorrow, Oct. 26 for a 2 p.m. match with USC Upstate. The match will celebrate the Panther's homecoming and can be seen live on ESPN +.