BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The High Point University Volleyball team traveled west for a matchup at Gardner-Webb University on Friday night. After a close first set, the Panthers found their groove and cruised to a 3-0 sweep, earning the teams' fifth sweep of the season.
"It took us a set to get started tonight but once we got going in the second and third set I thought we played very well," Head Coach
Ryan Meek stated. "We got contributions from everyone and that's when we're at our best."
At the net High Point was led by
Dylan Maberry on the attack with 18 kills for a .375 hitting percentage, recording her 17th match this season with double-digit kills.
Arica Davis led the night on the block with six total blocks, three of which being solo blocks. Davis eclipsed her 100
th block this season and currently sits in the top 10 in the NCAA in total blocks. She now has 103 blocks after picking up six in Friday's match.
It took the Panthers some time to get flowing on the offense. The first set witnessed back-and-forth action between HPU and GWU as the Runnin' Bulldogs led through majority of the first half of the set. After being down 12-9, High Point went on a 6-1 run to gain a two-point lead at 15-13. Maberry contributed three of the six points during that stretch by hammering down kills on the outside with ease.
Eve Wilson brought the heat with a right side kill to put the Panthers up 19-16 before the exchanging of points would give Gardner-Webb a 23-22 lead. With the match point near, HPU found a way to take the set with two solid kills from Maberry and a double block from Davis and
Kennedy Louisell.
High Point dominated in the second and third sets with multiple runs. The Panthers took their largest lead of set two at 17-9 before coasting to a 25-17 win. Continuing with the domination in the third set, HPU opened with a 6-1 lead to force a GWU timeout. The Runnin' Bulldogs rallied back to a 9-6 score, but High Point kept chipping away and extended the lead to seven with a kill in the middle from Davis.
There was no slowing down the HPU train as the set witnessed kills from all areas of the court. The Panthers held GWU to under 15 points in the third set for a 25-14 win and a set sweep.
Up Next:
High Point travels to Winthrop on Saturday afternoon for a Big South matchup at 2:00 p.m. in Rock Hill, S.C.
#GoHPU
