PROVO, Utah – The High Point University volleyball team picked up its first win of the season on Friday evening in game two of the DoTERRA Classic at BYU. The Panthers took care of business with a 3-1 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson University.
 
The Panthers were led by two players in double figures as Élodie Lalonde and Ryley Boyne each knocked down 11 kills. Boyne had an impressive day hitting right at .500 while contributing two blocks.
 
"All through the day we've had different people step up," Head Coach Ryan Meek commented. "Our goal is to win together and this evening we were able to do that. We need to start quicker, but at least we've been finding ourselves as the match goes on. A big one tomorrow night with BYU!"
 
Site:  Smith Fieldhouse
Score: High Point 3, FDU 1
Records: High Point (1-1), FDU (0-2)
 
How it Happened:
 
High Point jumped out strong in the first set as Lalonde set the tone early with three back-to-back kills to give HPU a 4-2 lead. FDU kept it competitive by keeping High Point within a point or two.
 
A block on the outside from Gabby Hill made it 9-7 in favor of HPU. Lalonde and Ella Grace Holloway tag teamed on the front row to give the Panthers a 14-11 lead with two kills apiece.
 
High Point could not break away from FDU, staying within three points or less until the end of the set. Hill capitalized on the last two points with two solid kills, picking up the first set win with a 25-23 victory.
 
In set two, the Panthers went down 4-2 but rallied back quickly to take the 5-4 advantage. After exchanging points back and forth, FDU found a hot streak late in the set and went on a 7-0 run. HPU was not able to recover from the large deficit and dropped set two 25-19.
 
After two sets, Lalonde was leading the team with 10 kills, six assists and a service ace.
 
The Panthers trailed again early in the third set, 4-2. The team turned it around and advanced on a 6-4 lead with kills from Boyne and Holloway. Maya Bukovcan also started to heat up on the attack and around the net on defense. She helped HPU take a 10-7 lead with back-to-back blocks after tracking the ball all across the net.
 
FDU tied the set at 12 all but not for long. The duo of Boyne and Bukovcan stepped up and gave High Point the lead back at 15-12. After leading 19-16, HPU stretched its lead with the help of two errors from the Knights to go up 21-16. Gia Padilla caught fire on the outside and knocked down two hits to give High Point its largest lead of the set, 23-17.
 
Bukovcan stuffed a kill from FDU to earn the final point of the set to go up 2-1 overall in the match.
 
High Point continued its momentum into set four and dominated on the attack to gain a 6-1 lead. FDU battled back and closed the game back to a one-point set with HPU holding onto the lead 8-7.
 
The Panthers kept the pressure on and secured three straight points to go back up by four. HPU tacked on more points and extended the lead to six at 16-10. The Knights cut it back to within two points at 18-16, after knocking in back-to-back kills. High Point remained focused and went back up 21-16 before taking the set 25-20 with a kill from Bukovcan and Holloway.
 
Extra stats:

• The Panthers picked up 15 blocks to FDU's five and tallied 48 kills to the Knights' 37.
• Holloway was one kill shy from breaking double digits in back-to-back games and finished with nine kills and four block assists.
• Kea Whillock had a strong day on the back row with a team high 15 digs while adding five assists.

 
UP NEXT:
High Point will play its final game of the DoTERRA Classic with a match against No. 19 BYU at 6:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 30. Tune in on ESPN+ or follow along with live updates on X (@HPUVB).