ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The High Point University volleyball team headed west on Friday night for a matchup in the mountains at UNC Asheville. The Panthers and Bulldogs met for the first time this season and battled it out through four sets. High Point prevailed and took the match 3-1 on the road.
"Every year there's a match that I look back on as a pivot moment, and that might be tonight," Head Coach
Ryan Meek stated. "We had to battle against a team playing great, a loud and full gym and find ways to win. Down 20-15 in the third set we banded together and figured out how to get out of their gym with a win.
I can't say enough about our effort as the match went on. It wasn't clean and it wasn't perfect, but it was fulfilling to see our team respond to a challenge and pull out a win."
Site: Justice Center
Score: High Point 3, UNC Asheville 1
Records: High Point (8-8, 5-1), UNC Asheville (6-13, 3-3)
How it Happened:
It was a back-and-forth affair through all four sets in the Justice Center on Friday night. The Panthers were led by Élodie Lalonde with 21 kills on a .255 hitting percentage. Joining Lalonde on the attack, four other teammates registered five or more kills across the front line, showing a balanced match.
It was a similar effort on the back row with four Panthers registering 10+ digs to help HPU get in position and set up its offense.
In set one, High Point took an 8-6 lead with a kill from
Remy Catojo before UNC Asheville when on a four-point swing to go up 10-8. The Panthers tied it at 12 all after a UNCA attack error.
Playing all the way around as the team's main setter, Catojo dominated on the front row attack and put down two back-to-back kills to help HPU take a 16-15 lead. After going down 19-18, the Panthers went on a 4-0 run with two kills from
Maya Bukovcan and kills from Lalonde and
Brooke Jeffrey on the pins to lead 22-19.
UNCA closed it back to a one-point game twice at 22-21 and 23-22. High Point secured the set point with back-to-back kills from Lalonde to win 25-23.
In set two High Point led 8-7. UNC Asheville found a hot streak and took to a 12-8 lead for its largest lead thus far in the match. After trailing 14-10, HPU took advantage of the Bulldogs' mistakes and closed the game to 14 all.
From that point on, the teams exchanged points with High Point leading slightly 21-19. UNCA tied the set at 22 all before tying it on four more occasions, leading to extra points in the set. HPU fell 28-26 in set two.
High Point trailed through majority of set three and went down as many as 19-13 late in the set. UNCA kept the six-point lead at 20-14 before the momentum switched in favor of the Panthers.
In the middle,
Addison Freeland ignited the HPU team with a powerful kill. High Point picked up three straight points to close the game to 20-17. Still trailing 23-19, Bukovcan put down a middle hit to make it a three-point game again. UNCA recorded an attack error and
Brooke Briscoe followed up on the serve with an ace to make it 23-22 with the Bulldogs still leading by one.
The Panthers put the pressure on the Bulldogs and held UNC Asheville scoreless through the final five points of the set and took set three, 25-23.
Set four witnessed another back-and-forth battle. High Point took an 8-5 lead early after Catojo set up Bukovcan for a middle kill. Shortly after, UNCA went up 10-8. The Panthers took back the lead, but the Bulldogs remained close, tying the set at 12 all, 13 all, and 14 all.
A Lalonde kill, Catojo block and Briscoe service ace stretched High Point's lead to 17-14. The separation helped the Panthers keep the lead as UNCA remained a point or two behind. The Panthers led 20-19 until UNC Asheville found a spark of their own and took its first lead since the 12-11 mark and went up 21-20.
High Point dug deep and rallied. After gaining the serve back on a UNC Asheville service error,
Sydney McKay set over a nasty serve that shanked off the UNCA defense. Lalonde secured a kill for the Panthers in the next sequence and gave HPU the 23-21 lead.
UNC Asheville picked up a point off an HPU error but the Panthers sealed the game with another Lalonde kill on the outside and a big-time block from Lalonde and Bukovcan. The Panthers picked up their fifth win in Big South play with the 3-1 road vcitory against the Bulldogs.
Extra Stats:
- High Point out served UNC Asheville 8-4.
- McKay led the game with a season-high three service aces.
- Catojo handed out 40 assists and Kea Whillock collected 19 digs.
UP NEXT:
High Point remains on the road and will travel to Spartanburg, South Carolina for a game against USC Upstate on Saturday, October 18. The first serve is set for 4:00 p.m. Follow along with live updates on X (@HPUVB).
#GoHPU
