LAWRENCE, Kan. – The High Point University volleyball team traveled to Lawrence, Kansas for the first round of the NCAA Tournament to take on the No. 4 seed University of Kansas. In front of a packed-out arena, the Panthers battled through three sets with the Jayhawks but fell 3-0, ending the 2025 season.
"It's always tough to end your season," Head Coach
Ryan Meek stated. "I thought we fought hard, and I thought there were some things we could've done differently but we don't get to take it back. We learned that we have to play the game we know how to and control our side of the net. We were in the match, and I think we kind of let that go a little bit at times. Our whole season has kind of been a wild ride but it's pretty cool to end it here."
Making the trip all the way to Lawrence was the High Point pep band who filled up an entire section in the stands, helping the Panthers battle through the match with cheers and energy.
"I think the pep band coming just shows you High Point's investment in athletics and our volleyball program," Meek added." Volleyball is an important sport at High Point and it was awesome to see them make the trip and be out here with us."
Site: Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena
Score: High Point 0, Kansas 3
Records: High Point (18-10, 12-2), Kansas (23-10, 13-5)
How it Happened:
In the opening set, High Point took off on a 3-0 lead, earning the first point off a service error, followed by a a
Brooke Briscoe service ace and a posterizing a double block from
Remy Catojo and
Addison Freeland.
Freeland showed steady dominance in the middle throughout the match and gave HPU the 4-2 advantage with a powerful kill for her first kill of the night.
Kea Whillock set up Élodie Lalonde on the outside for a kill to tie the set at five all.
The set tied two more times at six all and eight all with a
Sydney McKay ace that painted the back line. High Point took a 9-8 lead following an attack error by the Jayhawks, but Kansas quickly gained the serve back with an HPU serve into the net.
After the 9-9 tie, Kansas made it tough for High Point to get clean looks on the attack which gave the Jayhawks an opportunity to go up 12-9 for their largest lead thus far in the set.
The Panthers remained close and trailed by a point or two through the next 17 points of the set. High Point came within one late in the set, down 19-18. After reaching the 20th point and trailing by one, the Panthers were unable to score, resulting in the 25-20 set one loss.
After a competitive first set, High Point came out flat in the second and went down 10-1. Adjusting and working to gain some confidence back, the Panthers closed the gap to five at 13-8 with back-to-back kills from Lalonde and
Maya Bukovcan.
Kansas picked up two kills to extend its lead back up to seven but in the next rally,
Ryley Boyne posted up at the net and denied the ball at the net with a solo block to stuff the Jayhawks' Selena Leban.
Boyne's block was not enough to get the momentum to shift in the Panthers favor as Kansas continued to hold its lead going up 18-10. High Point continued to battle and closed the game to five, 19-14. Unfortunately, the Panthers were only able to land one more point before the end of the match and fell 25-15.
Bouncing back in the third set, High Point opened the set with poise and grit. A 3-0 run sparked by Bukovcan gave the Panthers a 5-2 advantage. HPU continued to push and hold the lead, going up four with an outside kill from
Gabby Hill.
Kansas closed the gap to two but back-to-back kills from Bukovcan and Boyne put the Panthers back up by four at 10-6. The Jayhawks answered with a 3-0 run but the Panthers followed up with their own 3-0 run, started by Boyne with an outside kill to go up 13-9.
High Point had a tough stretch and struggled to stop Kansas' 6-0 run. The six-point swing gave the Jayhawks their first lead of the set. A service error by Kansas halted the run and made it 15-14 in favor of the Jayhawks.
High Point continued to battle as Freeland tied the set at 16 all and Hill tied it again at 17 all. After a service error by the Panthers, Kansas put the game away and went on an 8-1 run to end the match.
Extra Stats:
- Four Panthers led the team with 5+ kills including Lalonde and Freeland with six and Boyne and Bukovcan with five a piece.
- Whillock and Briscoe each recorded double-digit digs with 16 and 10 respectively.
- Catojo finished with 18 assists.
- Allie Gray, Gia Padilla, Brooke Jeffrey and Boyne all played in the final game of their collegiate careers.
The Panthers finished the season 22-10 overall with a 12-2 record in Big South Conference play. High Point won the Big South regular-season title and the Big South Tournament title for the third straight season. The Panthers will look to build on this season for 2026 with its young team.
#GoHPU
