HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University Panthers volleyball team had its first home game of the season on Friday night in the Millis Center. The Panthers welcomed Winthrop University for their second game of the Big South regular season and after a five-set thriller the Panthers came up short in set five and fell 3-2 overall.
Site: Millis Center
Score: High Point 2, Winthrop
Records: High Point (4-8, 1-1), Winthrop (8-4, 1-1)
How it Happened:
After falling in the opening set, the Panthers regrouped and dominated in the second and third sets, defeating the Eagles by 10-points in set three. All the way through the fourth and fifth sets, the game could've gone either way as the final set stretched into extra points.
High Point was led by its three main hitters, Élodie Lalonde,
Maya Bukovcan and
Addison Freeland. Lalonde had a strong night on the outside knocking down 19 kills, while Freeland and Bukovcan tagged teamed the middle attack and each registered 13 kills. In the 6-2 rotation,
Allie Gray and
Remy Catojo handed out an even number of assists, combining for 54 for the game.
Across the board, the statistics between both teams remained fairly even but one area HPU dominated in was on the attack, putting down 70 kills to Winthrop's 53. After only registering nine kills as a team in set one, the Panthers recorded double digit kills in the last four sets, producing a game-high 17 kills as a team in set two, hitting over .300 in both the second and third sets.
Throughout the match, neither team got hot on the block, as each team only registered five total. High Point made the few blocks count when it was needed. In the final set, Bukovcan and Gray shutdown a Winthrop hit to tie the set early at three all after trailing 3-1. Bukovcan fired up the team with the block along with three kills to give HPU a 5-4 lead.
Gabby Hill kept it going for the Panthers from the outside to make it 6-4.
Winthrop answered in the loud, High Point filled gym and made a five-point run to go up 9-6. The Panthers kept within a three-point range and trailed 13-10. Freeland hammered down a shot in the middle to ignite the Panthers momentum. Four straight points for High Point gave the Panthers a 14-13 lead and a possible game point in sight.
Being the veteran team that Winthrop is, the Eagles set-up their best outside hitter, Avery Jolley who knocked down a shot. Winthrop took back the lead at 16-15 with an HPU attack error.
The Panthers tied the game twice with the match point on the line from kills on the outside from Lalonde. First at 15 all and then again at 16 all. High Point was unable to hold on to the serve and fell to the Eagles in the fifth set 18-16 after a service error and a Winthrop kill.
Extra Stats:
- Ryley Boyne joined the attack in double-digits with 10 kills on a .563 hitting percentage.
- High Point hit .278 as a team.
- Kea Whillock picked up 19 digs to lead the game.
UP NEXT:
High Point is back at the Millis Center on Saturday, October 4 for a matchup with Gardner-Webb at 2:00 p.m. Follow along with live updates on X (@HPUVB).
#GoHPU
