Boiling Springs, N.C. – The High Point University women's volleyball team defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs of Gardner-Webb University on Saturday afternoon, 3-0 in Big South play. The team was led offensively by
Dylan Maberry who has been killing it in the last two games. She finished the game with 17 kills for a .412 hitting percentage, her fourth game this season with a .400+ hitting percentage.
Site: Paul Porter Arena
Score: High Point 3 (25, 25, 25), Garner-Webb 0 (23, 20, 20)
Records: High Point (14-8, 7-1), Gardner-Webb (5-15, 3-5)
Ryan Meek – "We had some great individual efforts today, and you need that through the course of a season. Dylan and Gabby stepped up offensively today and Maggie came in during the second set and gave us a major lift with six kills. We've been on the road seven of our first eight weekends so it's time to start playing some home matches in front of fans at Millis next week."
It took a little bit for High Point to get in their usual groove as Gardner-Webb took a 6-3 lead in the first set.
Gabrielle Idlebird had two early kills from the middle to help get the Panthers rolling, one of which, she smacked straight down on the 10-foot line.
High Point made a run mid-way through the set, taking off on a 7-0 run to lead 16-11. The Runnin' Bulldogs answered shortly after, advancing on their own run to come within one point.
The Panthers held composer and did not get rattled even when the game was close at the end. Idlebird put down a hit to make it 24-22. With the match point on the line, Gardner-Webb converted on a kill to close it to one.
Sydney Palazzolo came in clutch with a kill to give High Point the first set.
HPU opened the second set fired up. After holding a 9-3 lead, the Runnin' Bulldogs found their way back into the set with multiple kills to make it 12-10 Panthers.
Maggie Salley registered two kills late in the set to add to the Panthers lead, making it 23-19. Two errors from the Runnin' Bulldogs would give HPU their second win of the day.
Set three was another close set as Gardner-Webb battled hard against HPU. The set was tied at 11 all, but Palazzolo kept the Panthers ahead. Four plays later, Maberry found a hot streak, knocking down three straight hits for a 17-14 lead.
The Panthers out ran the Runnin' Bulldogs in the end, securing the 25-20 win for another 3-0 sweep on the season.
#GoHPU
