HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University Volleyball team squared away against the visiting Bulldogs of UNC Asheville on Friday evening for the second time this season in Big South Conference play. The Panthers picked up their seventh sweep of the season in front of a packed crowd in the Millis Center.
"I thought we played well in spurts," Head Coach
Ryan Meek stated. "I didn't feel that we came out with the intensity that I wanted in the first and second set, but I thought the third set was much better. I think we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard all the time if we want to meet our goals. I think our serving was great but other parts of our game were off and on and we're going to have to have everything working if we want to reach our goals."
It was a close start between the teams in set one. After the set tied at 11 all, High Point managed to gain a lead and spread its lead to three at 14-11. A kill from
Eve Wilson and back-to-back service aces from
Dylan Maberry sparked the separation for the Panthers. HPU stretched on a 4-0 run and took a 19-12 lead. Wilson played a significant role on the right-side pin for the Panthers as she secured High Point's 20th point.
UNC Asheville stayed alive late in the set with sneaky touches that landed in uncovered areas. The Bulldogs closed the set to two points at 20-18 but High Point took care of business in the last five points with the help of Maberry and Élodie Lalonde on the outside, ending the set 25-18.
High Point kept dominating on a balanced attack. HPU's hard serve set the tone for each rally making it difficult for the Bulldogs to set up a clean offense on the initial return which made it easy for the Panthers to pick and choose where to run their attack from.
"In the first set our serving carried us," Meek added, "we had six service aces, which got Asheville out of system and gave us easy chances that made it hard for Asheville to score."
The Bulldogs took a 12-10 lead in the second set following a 4-0 run. High Point chipped away and took back the lead and held on through the end.
In the third set, High Point took an early 5-2 lead.
Kennedy Louisell joined in on the action on the outside and crushed two back-to-back kills to extended the Panthers lead to six.
Arica Davis knocked down two strong kills in the middle, witnessing one of the fastest and hardest kills of the night for the Panthers 16th point. The hit went straight down near the 10-foot line, earning her sixth kill of the night with a .417 hit percentage.
"I have been trying to be up every single time, with my arms back and ready, to be available for my setters to put it in some type of area for me to go at it and swing," Davis stated. "I want to use everything I have to my advantage and hit over people."
High Point advanced on an eleven-point lead at 21-10. The wide gap helped the Panthers cruise to a 25-18 victory and earn the 3-0 sweep.
Up Next:
High Point remains inside the Millis Center on Saturday, October 26 for a home matchup with USC Upstate at 2:00 p.m.
#GoHPU
