High Point, N.C. — High Point University's volleyball team travels to another weekend tournament, women's soccer faces two opponents, while men's soccer meets a team it has never played before and men's and women's cross country kicks off the season at Elon University.

Volleyball at Black Knights Invitational (West Point, N.Y.)

vs Liberty | Thursday, Aug. 31 | 4:00 pm | Gillis Field House
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vs Yale | Friday, Sept. 1 | 3:30 pm | Gillis Field House
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vs Army | Saturday, Sept. 2 | 2:00 pm | Gillis Field House
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HPU ended the JMU Invitational with one win and two hard-fought losses. The Panthers were first matched up against their host, James Madison University. The matchup lasted five sets, with both teams battling hard against each other; however, HPU was unable to secure the upper hand in the last set, falling to the Dukes. The next day, High Point faced off against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. UMBC secured the first set, but the Panthers weren't going to let that get them down. HPU came back swinging the second set, collecting a narrow 2-point victory over the Retrievers. High Point used this momentum to win the next two sets, landing them its first victory of the season. The last game for the Panthers was against Ohio University. Ohio took the first set by three points, but HPU battled back and secured the second set. Despite its momentum, High Point lost the following sets by a narrow margin, closing out the tournament with a tough loss. 

Liberty University hosted a tournament this past weekend against Bucknell University, Stony Brook University, and Gardner-Webb University. The Flames were first matched up against Bucknell on Friday, collecting a clean sweep for their first game in the tournament. The next day, Liberty was slated to play both Gardner-Webb and Stony Brook. The Flames were first matched up against Gardner-Webb Saturday morning. Liberty dominated the Bulldogs in the first set. Gardner-Webb attempted to fight back in the second, but ultimately fell to the Flames by three points. Liberty kept up its momentum in the third, resulting in the second clean sweep from the Flames. Finally, Liberty faced off against Stony Brook for the last game of the tournament. The Seawolves fought hard against the Flames, falling by less than 10 in each match. Liberty ended the tournament with its third straight sweep, taking the tournament title. 

The last time Liberty and HPU met on the court, the Panthers beat the Flames, 3-1. Liberty barely won the first match, 25-23, but High Point kept them from securing another. Matches two and three were narrow HPU victories, won by only two points. During the final match, the Flames lost their momentum and fell to the Panthers, 25-15. Since the first matchup in 1999, High Point has won 19 of the 47 games played against Liberty.

Yale has yet to step onto the court this season, meaning its matchup against High Point will be the Bulldogs' first time in action since its appearance in the NCAA Tournament last year. The Bulldogs were matched up against No. 5 seed, University of Central Florida. Although Yale fought hard, it was ultimately swept by the Knights, ending its season with a 23-3 record and a historic 17-match win streak which set the school record. 

HPU has yet to play Yale, according to the HPU Athletics website. 

Army hosted its invitational this weekend against Fairfield University, University of California, and Central Connecticut State University. Army first faced off against Fairfield in an epic five-set battle. Fairfield collected the first win, motivating West Point to battle back and collect the next two sets. Army eventually lost momentum, falling to the Stags in the fourth and fifth sets, resulting in a loss for West Point. Army couldn't dwell on the loss for too long as it was slated to play Cal that same day. The Golden Bears dominated the Black Knights in the first two sets, beating them 25-14 and 25-13, respectively. Army fought back in the third, but ultimately wasn't able to find the edge, falling to Cal, 25-22, and giving the Golden Bears a clean sweep. The Black Knights came back with a vengeance the next day against Central Connecticut. The Blue Devils fought hard the first set, falling to West Point 25-22. Army used this momentum to dominate the next two sets, winning by 11 points in both, resulting in a clean sweep for the Black Knights to end the tournament.

High Point beat Army the only time the two teams played each other in 2021. The first match ended in an Army defeat 25-19. After the initial loss, West Point battled back, but the Panthers came prepared and secured another match 26-24. High Point ended the matchup 25-13 in the third set, resulting in a clean sweep for the Panthers. 

Women's Soccer

vs Florida Gulf Coast | Thursday, Aug. 31 | 7:00 pm | Vert Stadium
Promos: Food Truck Thursday
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vs East Carolina | Sunday, Sept. 3 | 4:00 pm | Vert Stadium
Promos: HPU T-Shirts // Morgan's Message Game
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Women's soccer saw a rainy game against Appalachian State University, with an added three-hour lightning delay. Despite the unfavorable weather, both teams fought hard in the rainy first half, but neither team was able to gain the upperhand and land the ball in the net. After halftime, the rain died down and the Panthers' momentum shot up as HPU started raining shots against App State and outshot their opponent 12-6. Although High Point took twice as many shots, the Panthers were unable to find the back of the net, resulting in a draw. 

Florida Gulf Coast University collected a shutout against its in-state opponent, University of South Florida. The Eagles scored their first goal in the 25th minute with a solid fake left before shooting the ball into the net. After halftime, FGCU redirected a deep free kick, giving the Eagles a 2-0 lead. South Florida fought back against FGCU, taking 22 shots, 12 on goal; however the Eagles' defense worked hard, preventing any shots from landing. FGCU goalkeeper, Olivia Molina, notably recorded 12 saves against the Bulls, keeping them off the board and landing the Eagles a Sunday shutout. 

Thursday will be the first time the two teams meet on the field, according to HPU Athletics website.

East Carolina University beat Campbell University this past Sunday. The Pirates came out strong, scoring the only goal of the game in the fifth minute. ECU  player, Catherine Holbrook, crossed the ball over to Lucy Fazackerley, who used her head to drive the ball into the back of the net. The Pirates attempted to further their lead the rest of the game, shooting eight times, with four on goal; however, the Camels kept them from scoring a second, with their goalie collecting three saves of the four that were on goal. The game ended with an ECU victory, making their current record 2-1-1. 

The Panthers lost to the Pirates 2-0 the last time the two went head-to-head. Since its first matchup in 2001, High Point has collected one win over East Carolina and lost six times.

Men's Soccer

vs Evansville | Friday, Sept. 1 | 7:00 pm | Vert Stadium
Promos: HPU Hispanic Heritage T-Shirts
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Men's soccer ended last week with a tough fight against Saint Peter's University. The Peacocks scored the first goal at the 35th minute as he placed a ball into the left, top corner. HPU took 12 shots in the first half, but was unable to find the edge to land the ball in the net. After halftime, the Panthers ramped up their momentum, taking a total of 19 shots in the second half. At the 67th minute, the Panthers took a corner kick which resulted in the ball ricocheting off a Saint Peter's player and into the capable feet of Alex Abril, a graduate student coming off an injury from the previous season. Abril knew exactly what to do, taking his shot and launching the ball in the top right corner of the net, tying up the game. The Panthers kept their momentum, but they were unable to edge out a second goal, ending the game with a draw. 

The University of Evansville claimed a victory over California State University Fullerton this past Sunday, coming back from a tied halftime. Fullerton scored the first goal of the game in the 24th minute, but the Aces didn't take long to respond, scoring a goal following a corner kick in the 38th minute. Evansville came out strong in the second half, scoring in the 65th minute via a shot from the right side that was redirected into the net by midfielder Jose Vivas. Twelve minutes later, the Aces secured their victory with a header in the left corner of the goal. 

Friday will be the first time these two teams play each other, according to the HPU Athletics website.

Men's and Women's Cross Country

at Elon | Friday, Sept. 1 | 8:00 pm | Elon Cross Country Course

HPU men's cross country team finished its 2022 season placing 15th at the NCAA Southeast Regional Meet. Othmane El Gharissi led HPU with a time of 30:55.0, landing in 48th place. Spencer Smucker, now-graduated, finished not long after, barely missing the top 50 by one runner. Ian Miller was the next Panther to finish with a time of 31:52.5 for 93rd place. Patrick Kelly finished in 117th place with teammate Kyler Koning right behind him in 118th place, both finishing with a time of 32:24.2.

The HPU women's cross country team took 11th place at the NCAA Southeast Regional Meet, tying its program's best finish. Lindsey Ickes paced HPU with a time of 20:56.5, good for 29th place while Ashley Jones finished 39th in 21:08.0. Following Ickes and Jones, Camryn Harper was the next Panther to cross the finish line, finishing 87th with a time of 22:02.2, a personal best by 10 seconds. Charli Montalvo finished 91st and was a top-10 freshmen finisher with her time of 22:09.7. The Panthers finished the 2022 season as nine-time Big South Champions after capturing their sixth-straight trophy, a new conference record.