HIGH POINT, N.C. – After a delayed start to conference play from Hurricane Helene, the High Point University volleyball team hosted Presbyterian for the first conference regular season game on Friday night. The Panthers showed out for the fans on the home court with a thrilling 3-0 sweep over the Blue Hose.
High Point was led by
Dylan Maberry on the attack with 10 kills and 14 digs, securing her eighth double-double of the season. Three other Panthers added 5+ kills apiece including
Arica Davis (9),
Eve Wilson (7) and
Jayde Shelton (6). Wilson had a strong night from the right side posting a .538 hit percentage after going 7-for-13.
Two freshman contributed solid playing time as
Addison Freeland entered the match in the third set and hammered down three straight kills from the middle.
Ella Grace Holloway put down her first career kill and helped HPU secure the winning point in set three to end the match.
In the opening set HPU trailed 8-7 before making a four-point swing to take the 11-8 advantage. Both teams exchanged points through the next 12 actions. Wilson started heating up in the last half of the set, helping High Point make an 8-2 run for the first set win, 25-17.
Wilson's hot hands carried over into set two as she secured her sixth kill of the day to make it 11-10. After High Point reached the 20
th point first to lead 21-19, the Blue Hose stretched on their largest lead of the match at 24-21. One point would call the set and even the match at 1-1, but the Panthers dug deep and bounced back with a 5-0 run to take the set.
Kennedy Louisell kept the Panthers alive with the first kill to make it 24-22. An attack error by Presbyterian closed the gap to one point for the Panthers. Maberry followed up with a kill on the outside to tie the set at 24 all. Louisell handled the pressure on the serve and aced the next serve to give HPU the 25-24 lead, which was the first lead since the 21-19 mark. Maberry sealed the deal with a kill to take set two 26-24.
The third set was a breeze. High Point jumped to a 12-7 lead early and after another 4-0 run to make it 16-10, the Panthers cruised to the final point of the set for the 25-15 win.
As a team, the Panthers served in six service aces, led by Maberry with three of her own. Davis and Shelton combined for eight block assists while
BayLea Sparks collected two herself.
High Point earned its second consecutive sweep of the season to open Big South conference play with a victory.
Up Next:
High Point remains at home this weekend to host Charleston Southern on Saturday, October 5 at 2:00 p.m. inside the Millis Center.
#GoHPU
