HIGH POINT, N.C. – In the final game of the High Point Invitational at High Point University, the Panthers defeated the visiting Bears from Mercer University, 3-1 inside the Millis Center. HPU was led by
Dylan Maberry and
Kennedy Louisell who combined for 29 kills, as Louisell tied her career-high with 14.
"I think when we play the way we are supposed to… we are very good," Head Coach
Ryan Meek state. "You're seeing a team that is trying to figure out what they are, and I think when we are able to translate what we are doing in practice over to the game we look great. I still see moments when its not going our way… we tend to shut down a little bit and let the pressure get to us. I think the coolest thing today was we overcame adversity. It wasn't like we won in the third and fourth sets by just playing awesome, we had to grind and figure things out, and we did. Hopefully that's a lesson going forward for when we do experience tough situations, we can figure out how to win."
After the first set did not go the way HPU wanted it to, the Panthers regrouped and came out with a different approach for the second set.
High Point held a steady lead through the first half of the second set and after taking a 13-12 lead, the front line caught fire and started clicking. A 7-0 push for the Panthers led to a 20-13 lead with the help of five kills and a double block. The shift in momentum brought the home crowd into it and benefited in the Panthers favor.
Maberry and Louisell handled business on the outside as Maberry tagged seven kills and Louisell tagged six in set two. HPU took set two 25-19.
High Point was fired up to start the third set and advanced to a 12-4 lead. Mercer's front row put down multiple hits and cut the set back to two points at 12-10, with High Point still leading.
From there the teams exchanged points through the end of the set. HPU's front line was not only crushing the ball, but they were also tracking the ball on the block and picked up four blocks in the third set alone.
BayLea Sparks had a hand in on each of the four blocks.
A Maberry service ace ended set three, giving High Point the 26-24 win and a 2-1 lead in sets.
The fourth set was similar to the third, witnessing multiple segments of runs from each team. Late in the set, the Panthers went down 22-19. Kills from Louisell and
Eve Wilson along with a Sparks block tied the set at 22 all. A service ace from
Hannah Hawkins gave HPU the one-point lead at 23-22 but a Mercer kill tied the game at 23's.
The teams exchanged leads and tied the game at 25 all. A big-time double block from
Arica Davis and Hawkins gave the Panthers the one point edge again before a Maberry ace called the game for the 27-25 win.
High Point finished the game with 14 blocks, led by Sparks with six block assists and two solo blocks. Hawkins posted a season-high 36 assists on the day.
Up Next:
High Point travels to James Madison University for the James Madison Invitational on Saturday September 14 for a doubleheader matchup against Western Michigan and JMU.
#GoHPU
