CLINTON, S.C. – The High Point University volleyball team traveled down to Clinton, South Carolina for the final weekend on the road in regular-season play. Taking on the Blue Hose, the Panthers cruised through three sets for the 3-0 sweep.
"We are starting to put together longer stretches of good volleyball," Head Coach
Ryan Meek stated. "I thought we did a good job responding to Presbyterian's challenge in the second set and then carrying over that sharpness to the third. We still need to work on our consistency but winning on the road is difficult and we were able to leave with a sweep."
Site: Templeton Center
Score: High Point 3, Presbyterian 0
Records: High Point (14-9, 10-2), Presbyterian (6-18, 2-10)
How it Happened:
In the opening set of the night, it was all High Point, led by the dominant duo of
Addison Freeland and
Maya Bukovcan in the middle with 11 of the Panthers 19 kills. Both players were very efficient on the attack, hitting over .700 each with Bukovcan remaining a perfect 100%.
HPU leaked out to a 9-3 lead early. Continuing the six-point advantage, the Panthers took to a 17-11 lead. The defense on the serve was strong from both teams as each team only recorded one service ace in the first set. High Point had steady separation throughout the set and went on to take set one, 25-17.
The second set witnessed back and forth action. Presbyterian took its first lead of the match at 4-1 but the Panthers quickly tied it at five all after gaining back-to-back kills from Élodie Lalonde on the outside. The set tied again at eight all and 10 all before the Blue Hose strung together multiple kills to go up 14-11.
Remy Catojo set up Bukovcan on a back set for the slide to give HPU it's 12th point to make it a two point game. Bukovcan was leading the team with eight kills on a perfect hitting percentage.
High Point continued to trail, but managed to close the game to 19-17 after trailing 19-15. This forced Presbyterian to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, HPU tied set at 20 all with Bukovcan hit in the middle. A PC attack error gave HPU its first lead at 21-20 since the first set when HPU won 25-17. The Blue Hose called their final time of the set to slow High Point's run but an 8-0 run allowed HPU to take set two. Catojo finished out the set with back-to-back dumps at the net.
High Point dominated in set three. After leading 5-4, the Panthers went on an 8-0 run, led by three straight service aces from
Sydney McKay to go up 14-4. The Panthers continued to score and went up 19-10 with a Lalonde kill and double block with Freeland. PC fought back late in the set after trailing 24-16 to make it 24-20 but an attack error by the Blue Hose gave HPU the final point of the set.
Extra Stats:
- Three Panthers led the attack in double figures, Lalonde with 14, Bukovcan with 11 and Freeland with 10.
- Catojo registered 41 assists.
- The Panthers out hit the Blue Hose 56-30 with a .336 hitting percentage.
UP NEXT:
High Point remains on the road and will play Charleston Southern on Saturday, November 8 at 3:00 p.m. Follow along with live updates on X (@HPUVB).
#GoHPU
