MATCH INFO
Thursday, April 1 -- vs. Gardner-Webb (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 6 p.m.
Live Stats | Watch | Match Notes
 
Friday, April 2 -- vs. Gardner-Webb (Millis Center, High Point, N.C.), 2 p.m.
Live Stats | Match Notes
 
The High Point University volleyball team (14-0, 14-0 Big South) puts its perfect season on the line with a pair of matches this week against Gardner-Webb (4-10, 4-10 Big South) to finish out the regular season. The teams will meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday (April 1) before finishing the regular season on Friday (April 2) at 2 p.m.
 
Matchup History

• High Point and Gardner-Webb have met 26 times entering Thursday with the Panthers holding a commanding 23-3 lead in the series.
• HPU has won each of the last 12 matches between the two and 18 of the last 19. Most of the matches haven't lasted very long, with just two of the 26 going five sets, and 14 of them decided in three sets.
• The teams only met once last season, with the Purple and White picking up the win in straight sets and only allowing Gardner-Webb a total score of 47 over the three frames.

 
Across the Bench

• Gardner-Webb is 4-10 on the year and is coming off of two splits. The Runnin' Bulldogs beat second-place Charleston Southern in straight sets on Friday before losing to the Buccaneers in four sets the next day.
• That followed a split with Campbell, with GWU dropping the first match in three sets before winning the second in four.
• Gardner-Webb is one of the top blocking teams in the country, entering Thursday leading the conference and 36th in the nation with an average of 2.51 blocks per set.
• The Runnin' Bulldogs also lead the Big South in attacks per set, averaging almost 38 swings per frame.
• Two Runnin' Bulldogs average over 2.00 kills per set, led by Kylee Garrison at 2.77. She's followed by Audrey Gun, who averages 2.19 kills each set.
• Hannah Donaldson has the best hitting percentage on the team, connecting at a .225 clip to be the only GWU player to hit over .180.
• Alexandria Roycraft is one of the main reasons Gardner-Webb is a force at the net on the defensive side as she leads the conference and is 39th in the country with an average of 1.28 blocks per set.
• Sophia Bolden leads the back end for the Runnin' Bulldogs, averaging 4.11 digs per set.

 
Panther Notes
Last Time Out
High Point secured the Big South Regular-Season Championship last week with a pair of wins over Campbell. The Panthers won a close battle on Thursday in four sets, with each set decided by five points or fewer, and then easily took care of business on Friday with a straight-set victory.
 
Conference Champs
High Point has now won its third regular-season championship in the last four years and fourth overall after sweeping Campbell. Combined with Big South Tournament victories, this year marks the fifth title in the last five years that the Panthers have won.
 
One of a Few
The Panthers are one of just six teams this season that have played and have not lost a match yet. Only Western Kentucky is undefeated with more wins than High Point as the Hilltoppers are 18-0 on the season.
 
Going Dancing
Since the Big South is not holding a tournament this year, HPU will represent the conference at the NCAA Tournament with the automatic bid. It's the fourth time in the last five years that the Purple and White have made it to the NCAA Tournament, with three automatic bids and one at-large selection.
 
Can You Dig It?
Abby Bottomley made history against Charleston Southern last Friday as she recorded her 2,000th career dig in the second match. She's just the second Panther to reach the milestone since the program joined Division I in 1999 and the sixth player in the Big South to hit 2,000 digs. Bottomley is currently second among active D1 volleyball players with 2,071 career digs while her 5.32 career digs per set average is the fourth-best in the country.
 
Staying in Lockdown Mode
High Point's defense has been stingy all season long, holding opponents to hitting just .101, the fifth-lowest opponent hitting percentage in the country. The Panthers have held opponents to hitting .100 or lower in nine matches, including a season-best -.044 in the second match of the year, and has only allowed an opponent to hit over .150 twice - both occurring last Friday at Charleston Southern.
 
Double the Weekly Awards
HPU took home multiple awards from the Big South this week as Madison Smith was named the conference's Player of the Week while Bottomley took home Libero of the Week honors. This was Smith's second Player of the Week win this season and the third Libero of the Week award for Bottomley. It's the first time this season that High Point has won multiple honors in the same week, something the Purple and White achieved three times in 2019.
 
Thank You Seniors
Last Friday, High Point honored its three seniors in Bottomley, Kassidy Dickerson, and Ali Thanhauser. The trio has a combined winning percentage of .721 the last four years, with a mark of .933 in conference play, making them the most successful class in High Point's Division I history.
 
Going Streaking
The Panthers have won 14 matches in a row to start the season, the second-longest winning streak in program history, and is the best start to conference play since the Purple and White went undefeated in 2017 as part of a record 20 conference wins in a row. HPU has also won 12 conference matches away from home dating back to last season, one away from matching the program record while the eight consecutive road wins this year is a new program benchmark.
 
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 seven of the 14 matches played this season and have only hit below .200 twice. High Point has one of the most efficient offenses in the country, entering the weekend in 15th place nationally with a .287 hitting percentage.
 
Two at the Top
Kaley Rammelsberg and Gabrielle Idlebird are the two best hitters in the conference and two of the top hitters in the country, entering Thursday in seventh and 31st place in the country, respectively, in hitting percentage. Rammelsberg has racked up 120 kills with 17 errors on 224 attempts to hit .460 while Idlebird has 91 kills with 18 errors in 187 attempts to hit .390. The duo also sit third and fourth, respectively, on HPU's kills list this season.
 
Nifty Fifty
The second 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.
 
Ready, SET, Go!
High Point won 25 consecutive sets before dropping the third one to Winthrop in the first match between the two last this season. The streak ended one short of matching the program record for consecutive sets won, as did the streak of matches won in straight sets at seven.
 
Milestone Matches
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.
 
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 2,071 digs and 119 service aces in her career, the second-most digs in program history and the seventh-most aces.
 
A Team Effort
Three Panthers had double-digit kills in both matches against Charleston Southern to make it four times that's happened this season. Sullivan and Rammelsberg were first and second on the team in both matches, with Sullivan leading the way with 19 and 15, followed by Rammelsberg with 12 and 13. Kratzer was third in match one with 11 kills while Maggie Salley had as many in the second match.
 
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 is currently second in the conference with an average of 1.8 aces per set, putting it 28th in the country. Bottomley's .53 aces per set are 17th in the country and best in the Big South.
 
Set for Success
High Point currently leads the conference in assists per set with an average of 12.8. The duo of Maria Miggins and Mackenzi Thornburg are each in the top-10 in the conference for assists per set, averaging 6.3 and 4.9 assists per set, respectively.
 
New Award, No Problem
Bottomley was the first recipient of the Big South's Libero of the Week honor earlier this season (Feb. 9) after recording at least five digs in all seven of HPU's sets over the opening weekend of play, and has won the new award a total of three times now. 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, giving her 19 weekly awards in her career.
 
 
Up Next: After securing the Big South's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, the Panthers will wait for the selection show Sunday afternoon (April 4) to determine who HPU will play in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.