PROVO, Utah – On Saturday evening, the High Point University volleyball team matched up against No. 19 Brigham Young University in the final game of the DoTERRA Classic. Giving the top ranked Cougars a competitive fight, High Point fell in three sets.
Site: Smith Fieldhouse
Score: High Point 0, No. 19 BYU 3
Records: High Point (1-2), No. 19 BYU (3-0)
How it Happened:
Maya Bukovcan, a freshman, opened the game hot at the net. She tallied two big blocks in the first four serves of the game to give the Panthers the 3-1 lead. She continued to dominate and fired up the team with her third block of the set to keep HPU ahead, 5-4.
BYU took its first lead of the match with a kill from the outside to go up 7-6. Bukovcan helped keep the Panthers within three points to the Cougars by hitting down two kills to make it 14-11.
The Cougars went on a 6-3 run to reach the 20-point mark first and lead 20-14. After going down 23-16, the Panthers called a timeout to try to seize BYU's momentum. HPU picked up one point before the end of the set with a double block from
Ella Grace Holloway and Bukovcan but fell 25-17.
In set two the Panthers trailed 3-0 early before a service ace from
Gia Padilla and a double block from Élodie Lalonde and Bukovcan gave HPU a 6-5 lead. Lalonde tied it at nine all with a kill from the outside. After making five straight mistakes on the attack, High Point trailed 14-9 to the Cougars.
The Panthers stopped the BYU's run, scoring two points to make it 14-11 but the Cougars found another groove on the attack and advanced on a 4-0 run to go up 19-11. High Point scored two points before the end of the set, falling 25-13.
Opening set three, the Panthers went down 7-2. HPU didn't fold and chipped away one point at a time to rally back to a one-point game at 8-7. Holloway contributed to three of the five points scored with two kills and a block.
Both teams battled through the set. The Panthers did not let anything past them on the net and strung together three big blocks followed by a Padilla kill to take the first lead of set three, 17-16.
High Point put the pressure on the Cougars and tied the set at 21 all with another strong block from
Ryley Boyne and
Addison Freeland. BYU went back up 23-21 before gaining a 24-22 lead with the serve and possible match point on the line.
The Panthers shut it down with a double block from Freeland and Holloway. In the next sequence, Holloway kept the set alive with a kill to tie it at 24-24 and force extra points.
BYU put down a kill to take the lead back 25-24 but HPU answered and tied it back up with another double block at 25 all. In the end the Cougars were able to secure the final two points of the set to take the match in three sets.
Following the completion of the DoTERRA Classic, Holloway was named to the All-Tournament team. The sophomore totaled 24 kills, averaging 2.18 kills per set while adding 12 blocks to pick up 1.09 blocks per set.
Extra stats:
- Panthers were led on the attack by Boyne with seven kills and a block assists.
- HPU totaled 13 blocks as a team, led by Bukovcan with nine blocks.
- Padilla led the team with 10 digs on the back line.
UP NEXT:
High Point remains on the road for another three-day preseason tournament at the Villanova Classic beginning on Friday, September 5. The Panthers will play Fairfield, Yale and Villanova. Tune in on ESPN+ or follow along with live updates on X (@HPUVB).
#GoHPU
