HIGH POINT, N.C. – On Saturday afternoon, the High Point University volleyball team hosted Gardner-Webb University at the Millis Center for the teams' first meeting in 2025. The Panthers defeated the Runnin' Bulldogs 3-1.

"We have to improve," Head Coach Ryan Meek stated. "Our top level is where we need it to be, we just don't see it as often as we need to. We get challenged, and we have to do a better job of responding. I think our athleticism has been able to get us out of some tough situations but we need to lean on our volleyball if we're going to become the team we want to be."
 
Site: Millis Center
Score: High Point 3, Gardner-Webb 1
Records: High Point (5-8, 2-1), Gardner-Webb (8-10, 1-2)
 
How it Happened:
 
Set one witnessed a lot of action from Maya Bukovcan and Élodie Lalonde on the attack. It was a close set to start the match as right-side hitter Ryley Boyne gave the Panthers a 6-5 lead. Following Boyne's kill, Gardner-Webb went on a 4-0 run to go up 9-6 before leading 12-8.
 
After trailing 13-10 Lalonde hammered down a kill to spark an eight-point run. Within that sequence Lalonde contributed four kills to give HPU an 18-13 advantage.
 
The Panthers remained steady on the attack as Bukovcan joined in on the action in the last five points for the Panthers with three back-to-back kills and a block. High Point took set one 25-17.
 
Set two began with a service ace from Sydney McKay to set the tone. The Panthers were firing on all cylinders in the offense as all three areas of the attack were registering kills. Tied at three all, Lalonde painted the line with a kill before going back to serve. After a kill from Boyne, Lalonde landed some luck with a serve that tipped just over the net for an ace. Bukovcan sent a middle hit straight down to give HPU a 7-3 lead early.
 
High Point continued to put down hits to give the Panthers a larger lead. An Addison Freeland kill in the middle from an overpass by Gardner-Webb off Brooke Briscoe's heated serve gave High Point a 10-4 lead.
 
The middle hitters kept dominating, led by Bukovcan who had picked up 10+ kills by the end of the second set while hitting over .500. A Bukovcan kill gave HPU a seven-point lead at 16-9. Gardner-Webb made small strides and closed the set back to three points at 16-13. The Panthers steadily chipped away and pushed their lead back up to seven, 22-15, with a service ace from Allie Gray.
 
HPU secured the last three points to take set two, 25-19. After two sets, the Panthers were hitting over .400 as a team.
 
High Point kept the momentum going at the start of the third set. The Panthers and Runnin' Bulldogs were tied at 12 all and a strong hit in the middle from Freeland ignited a run for High Point. The 6-0 run gave High Point an 18-12 lead.
 
Following a double block from Bukovcan and Lalonde for HPU's 19th point, GWU turned things around which flustered the HPU defense. Five straight points for the Runnin' Bulldogs tied the set at 20 all. Gardner-Webb did not stop there and registered three more points to go up 23-20. A kill on the right side from Boyne stopped Gardner-Webb's run but it was not enough to take back the lead as the Panthers fell in set three 25-21.
 
After a turn of events in set three, High Point was determined in set four, opening the set with a 7-1 lead. Lalonde and Bukovcan combined for five of the seven points scored in the sequence.
 
Continuing the game of runs, GWU closed the set back to within a point as HPU led 9-8. The Runnin' Bulldogs kept it close through the middle of the set and trailed 17-16 to the Panthers. HPU gained separation and took advantage of a 6-0 run to go up 23-16. High Point finished the set with a kill from Boyne and Gia Padilla to win 25-19.
 
Extra Stats:

• As a team High Point hit .284 and held Gardner-Webb to a .147 hitting percentage.
• HPU registered its third game of the season with 10+ service aces after serving in 11 to GWU's six.
• Lalonde finished with 18 kills, followed by Bukovcan with 14 and Freeland with 11.
• Bukovcan led the match with eight blocks while Lalonde contributed with five blocks.
• Kea Whillock collected a career-high 24 digs.

 
UP NEXT:
High Point is back in Millis on Friday, October 10 for a matchup with Charleston Southern at 6:00 p.m. Follow along with live updates on X (@HPUVB).