MATCH INFO

Thursday, March 11 -- vs. Winthrop (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 1 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch | Match Notes
 
Friday, March 12 -- vs. Winthrop (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 2 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch | Match Notes
 
The High Point University volleyball team (8-0, 8-0 Big South) returns home for a pair of matches against 2019 champion Winthrop (5-3, 5-3 Big South) this week at the Millis Center on Thursday (March 11) and Friday (March 12) afternoons.
 

Matchup History

• High Point and Winthrop have met 40 times before this week, with the Eagles holding a 29-11 advantage in the series.
• Winthrop was all over HPU in the Panthers' Division I infancy, winning the first 21 matches between the two and only allowing High Point to win a total of nine sets in that stretch.
• High Point has turned things around recently, winning 11 of the last 19. Winthrop has taken the last three in the series, winning all three of them in straight sets.

 

Across the Bench

• Last year's defending champions are 5-3 on the season and come to the Millis Center on a three-match winning streak after splitting with Campbell and sweeping Gardner-Webb in straight sets.
• The Eagles got off to a bit of a rocky start in 2021, dropping both matches at Charleston Southern over opening weekend.
• Winthrop is the best digging team in the Big South, entering Thursday with 445 total digs for an average of 17.12 to lead the conference and sit 46th in the country in digs per set.
• Three Eagles average right around 2.50 kills per set on the season, led by Morgan Bossler's mark of 2.65. Right behind her are Nikkia Benitez and Brookelynn Thomas at 2.58 and 2.46, respectively.
• Bossler is also Winthrop's leader in hitting percentage, hitting .351 on the year to be the only Eagle hitting better than .200.
• Libero Leah Metzger leads the defensive charge for Winthrop, leading the team with an average of 4.31 digs per set, good for third in the conference.

 

Panther Notes

Last Time Out

High Point made it four straight sweeps to start the season after handling business in straight sets against USC Upstate last week. Both matches went quick, taking just over 70 minutes each. The Panthers only surrendered a maximum of 17 points in any single set in Thursday's win (March 4) and completely dominated the second set on Friday (March 5), taking the frame 25-8.
 

Staying in Lockdown Mode

High Point's defense continued to be stingy to start the season, holding Upstate to hitting just .062 over the two matches combined. HPU has now held its opponents hitting under .100 in each of the last four matches and six of the eight played so far this season, highlighted by a season-best of -.044 against Presbyterian in the second match of the season. Nationally, the Panthers' season opponent hitting percentage of .065 is the best in all of Division I, .018 better than second place and one of just five schools to hold opponents under .100.
 

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 Panthers have hit above .300 in six of the eight matches played this season and have only hit below .200 once. High Point has one of the most efficient offenses in the country, entering the weekend in fifth place nationally with a .322 hitting percentage.
 

Two in the Top-10

Kaley Rammelsberg and Gabrielle Idlebird are two of the top hitters in the country, entering Thursday in third and eighth place in the country, respectively, in hitting percentage. Rammelsberg has racked up 61 kills with 11 errors on 102 attempts to hit .490 while Idlebird has 56 kills with seven errors in 104 attempts. The duo also sit third and fourth, respectively, on HPU's kills list this season.
 

Nifty Fifty

Friday's win at Upstate was the 50th at HPU for head coach Ryan Meek. He reached the 50-win mark in just 73 matches, making him the fastest coach to hit the milestone in High Point's D1 history.
 

Going Streaking

The Panthers have won eight matches in a row to start the season, tied for the fourth-longest Big South winning streak in program history, and is the best start to conference play since the Purple and White went undefeated in 2017. HPU has also won 10 conference matches away from home dating back to last season, the second-longest streak in program history, three behind the record set over the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
 

Ready, SET, Go!

High Point has won 23 consecutive sets and has only lost one set this season. The 23 sets in a row is the second-longest streak of sets won in HPU's history, three behind the program record of 26. That streak of 26 came as part of eight consecutive victories in straight sets, with the current streak sitting at seven three-set wins in a row.
 

Milestone Matches

Senior Abby Bottomley reached two milestones of 100 against Upstate in the two matches. Her 17 digs to lead the team on Thursday was the 100th match she's ended with double-digit digs while her 15 on Friday led the team in the category for the 100th time out of her 105 career matches.
 

Career Highs

Against Radford on Feb. 25, Bottomley recorded a career-high five aces, the most any Panther has had in a single game since Megan Kratzer had seven against Charleston Southern in 2019. Redshirt sophomore Madison Smith led the Panthers offensively the next night (Feb. 26), recording a career-high 17 kills in the three-set match - the most any HPU player has had in a single match this season. 
 

Welcome to the Club

Bottomley became the sixth HPU player in its Division I history to join the 1,000 digs and 100 service aces club with her four-ace performance in the win at UNC Asheville earlier this season (Feb. 17). She enters Thursday with 1,934 digs and 110 service aces in her career, the second-most digs in program history and the seventh-most aces.
 

A Team Effort

In the second match against Asheville (Feb. 18), three Panthers recorded double-digit kills in a match for the second time this season. It first happened against Presbyterian in the season opener (Feb. 4) when Annie Sullivan (16), Maria Miggins (10), and Rammelsberg (10) each had 10+ kills. Against Asheville, it was Idlebird (11) who joined Sullivan (13) and Rammelsberg (10) in the double-digits club. 
 

Ace, Ace, Baby

The Panthers served up 13 aces in their second victory over Presbyterian (Feb. 5), 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 2.08 aces per set, putting them 15th in the country. Abby Bottomley's .68 aces per set are fourth in the country and best in the Big South.
 

Set for Success

High Point currently sits at second in the conference in assists per set with an average of 13.36. The duo of Miggins and Mackenzi Thornburg are each in the top-10 in the conference for assists per set, averaging 6.0 and 5.28 assists per set, respectively.
 
Up Next: High Point has its final road trip of the season next week when the Panthers head back to South Carolina for a two-game series with Charleston Southern starting Thursday (March 18).