GAME INFO

Wednesday, February 17 -- at UNC Asheville (Asheville, N.C.), 4 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch link coming soon (ESPN+) | Match Notes
 
Thursday, February 18 -- at UNC Asheville (Asheville, N.C.), 2 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch link coming soon (ESPN+) | Match Notes
 
The High Point University volleyball team (2-0, 2-0 Big South) returns to action this Wednesday (Feb. 17) and Thursday (Feb. 18) after its bye week when the Panthers travel to UNC Asheville (0-2, 0-2 Big South) for a pair of matches with the Bulldogs.
 

Matchup History

• High Point and UNC Asheville have played each other 42 times since HPU joined Division I in 1999 heading into this week, with the Bulldogs holding a commanding 28-14 lead in the series.
• Asheville dominated the meetings in High Point's D1 infancy, winning the first 19 meetings between the two schools.
• The script has flipped in recent years as the Panthers have won nine of the last 10 meetings, including the previous six matchups.
• The teams only met once in 2019, with the Purple and White winning in straight sets, part of five consecutive straight-set victories against UNC Asheville for HPU.

 

Across the Bench

• Asheville went 13-13 in 2019 and 7-7 in conference play to finish in fifth place.
• The Bulldogs made the first round of the Big South Tournament but lost to Presbyterian in straight sets.
• UNC Asheville got its season started this past weekend against Campbell, losing both matches in straight sets.
• The Bulldogs were one of the best teams at digging the ball a season ago, finishing second in the conference and 58th in the country with an average of 16.16 digs per set in 2019.
• Two Bulldogs picked up double-digit kills in the six sets against Campbell, led by Hannah Spicer with 12 and hitting .273 for the second-best hitting percentage among the Bulldogs.
• Grace Volk leads Asheville on the backend, totaling 13 digs last weekend for an average of 2.17 per set.

 

Panther Notes

Last Time Out

High Point started its season off on a strong note the first weekend of the month, taking both matches at Presbyterian. The first match went to four sets after the Blue Hose took set two, but the Panthers turned on the offense in the second half of the match, hitting above .400 in both sets three and four to secure the victory. HPU followed that up with a victory in straight sets the next day, totaling 13 service aces as a team in the win.
 

Sweep Central

The first week of the Big South season saw all eight teams either winning both matches or losing both, none of the four series ended in splits. Week two continued the trend, with three of the four two-match sets ending in sweeps with only one split so far in the eight series that have been played.
 

Heavy Hitting

HPU hit .427 in its season-opening match, the third-highest hitting percentage in a single match in High Point's history since the scoring format switched to the current 25-point method. The high hitting percentage was helped by hitting .609 in the third set and .438 in the fourth set, committing only three errors in the two sets combined. High Point's hitting percentage of .361 in the two matches combined not only leads the conference but is third in the country.
 

Ace, Ace, Baby

The Panthers served up 13 aces in the second victory over Presbyterian, tied for the third-most service aces in a single match in HPU history in the current 25-point scoring system. High Point currently leads the conference with an average of 3.14 aces per set, putting them third in the country.
 

Staying in Lockdown Mode

High Point's defense put the clamps on Presbyterian over the opening weekend, holding PC to hitting just .045, including holding the Blue Hose negative in all three sets of the second victory. HPU's opponent hitting percentage currently leads the Big South and is second in the country behind fellow North Carolina school NC Central.
 

New Award, No Problem

Senior Abby Bottomley was the first recipient of the Big South's Libero of the Week honor last Monday after recording at least five digs in all seven of HPU's sets over the opening weekend of play. The Libero of the Week award replaces the Defensive Player of the Week award, an honor that Bottomley took home six times in 2019 to set a conference record for the most times in a single season. She was named the Defensive Player of the Week 14 times through her first three seasons and was named Freshman of the Week twice, making this the 17th weekly award of her career.
 

Picked #1

High Point was predicted to win the Big South this season, making it five years in a row the Panthers have been predicted to finish atop the conference. HPU garnered 77 points and six first-place votes to finish three points ahead of last year's champion Winthrop's 74 points. The Eagles also picked up the remaining three first-place votes.
 

Preseason Honors

Three Panthers were named to the Preseason All-Conference Team: Bottomley, and sophomores Annie Sullivan and Kaley Rammelsberg. Winthrop was the only other school with multiple players named to the Preseason All-Conference Team while HPU was the only team to have three representatives on the team.
 

Schedule Format

This season teams will play back-to-back conference matches only against the same opponent at the same site on consecutive days. Each team will finish with 16 Big South contests, with the regular-season champion earning the conference's auto-bid to the NCAA Championship with no Big South Tournament being played this season.
 

Postseason Panthers

HPU's 3-1 victory over Morehead State in the first round of the NIVC a season ago marked High Point's first postseason victory since joining Division I in 1999. The Panthers have been to the NCAA Tournament four times in that stretch but have only one a set once, coming in 2017 with a 3-1 loss to Purdue.
 

All-Decade Dominance

High Point had three players named to the Big South's All-Decade Team this summer for the years 2010-19, tied for the most with Radford. Four-time All-Conference player and 2018 Player of the Year Molly Livingston headlined the list for the Panthers. She was joined by three-time All-Conference selection and 2016 Big South Tournament MVP Haley Barnes and current Panther and three-time All-Conference selection Bottomley.
 

Strength in Numbers

HPU has 22 players on its roster for the 2020 (played in spring 2021) season, making it the largest roster in the Big South. The Panthers narrowly edged out Radford as the Highlanders are carrying 21 players this season.
 
 
Up Next: High Point has its first home matches of the 2020-21 season next weekend (Feb. 25-26) when Radford visits the Millis Center for a pair of matches.