HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point University volleyball welcomed the College of Charleston to the Millis Center for a mid-week non-conference matchup. After falling behind by two sets to open the match, the Panthers dug deep and pulled off a reverse sweep to win 3-2 against the Cougars.
"Just very proud of tonight," Head Coach
Ryan Meek stated. "We clearly didn't have our best stuff but figured out how to grind out a way. We got contributions from almost everyone on the roster and we needed all of them. Tough match coming off of two road weekends but loved the fight the last few sets. A great team win."
Site: Millis Center
Score: High Point 3, College of Charleston 2
Records: High Point (10-9), College of Charleston (15-8)
How it Happened:
High Point had a slow start on Tuesday night in the Millis Center. Falling in the first two sets, 25-23 and 25-21 the Panthers had a major turnaround in set three. HPU trailed through majority of the first two sets and for the first time during the match High Point went up 3-1 to open set three.
HPU continued its run and went up 8-4. The College of Charleston quickly answered and put down multiple kills to take a one-point advantage at 11-10. Remaining focused, High Point put the ball in the right spots with back-to-back middle kills from
Addison Freeland and a
Sydney McKay service ace to go up 14-11 and eventually a 16-12 lead.
The middle stayed active for the Panthers as
Maya Bukovcan came in for a rotation after Freeland and helped HPU go up 19-13. High Point continued to hold the lead and took the set 25-21.
The fourth set was a battle between both teams. Exchanging points early, High Point's attack was balanced across the front, gaining hits from
Brooke Jeffrey,
Ryley Boyne and Freeland.
With the Panthers down nine to eight, Freeland heated up in the middle and put down three straight kills to give HPU the 11-9 lead. The Cougars answered with a 6-0 run of their own to go up 15-11 on the Panthers.
High Point used the home crowd advantage to get back into it and made big moves in the second half of the fourth set.
Gabby Hill was powerful on the outside and
Allie Gray picked up a couple kills herself helping the Panthers go on an 8-1 run. Élodie Lalonde made it 23-17 as Gray set her up on the outside for a kill.
The College of Charleston did not back down and rallied back to tie the set at 24 all. HPU secured the final two points with a service ace from Jeffrey to win 26-24.
In the final set of the night, High Point put the hammer down and jumped out to an early lead which gave the team confidence during each point.
Hill helped fuel the 8-3 lead at the mid set switch. The Cougars were rattled by the Panthers lead and could not get in system to score. High Point picked up points and went up 14-4. Jeffrey saved the day again and scored HPU's final point of the set with an outside kill to win 15-7.
Extra Stats:
- Freeland and Hill each recorded career-highs with 15 kills apiece to lead the team.
- The Panthers registered 11 service aces as a team.
UP NEXT:
High Point remains at home and will face USC Upstate on Friday, October 31 for a Halloween Night at the Millis Center at 6:00 p.m. Follow along with live updates on X (@HPUVB).
#GoHPU
