JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – On Friday afternoon, the High Point University volleyball team kicked off the Buccaneer Classic at East Tennessee State University. The Panthers took on Western Kentucky University and fell to the Hilltoppers in three sets.
Addison Freeland matched her career-high with a game-high 13 kills. She hit .360 on the day and added four blocks.
Site: Freedom Hall
Score: High Point 0, Western Kentucky 3
Records: High Point (2-4), Western Kentucky (4-2)
How it Happened:
Freeland led the High Point attack and the block from the middle throughout the match. She averaged 4.0 kills per set in the three sets played.
The first set started off competitive as the teams exchanged points back-and-forth. After Élodie Lalonde got the Panthers first point and first kill of the game, Freeland heated up, hitting down three kills with a block to help HPU lead 8-6.
Western Kentucky found its rhythm and stretched on a 6-0 run to lead 12-8. A service error by the Hilltoppers gave High Point a point but WKU went on to score three more points.
A kill on the outside from
Gia Padilla paved way for a 5-1 run by the Panthers to cut the set back to within three points at 19-16. HPU trailed 24-18 and strung together two kills from
Maya Bukovcan and Lalonde, followed by a Western Kentucky mistake to make it 24-21. WKU secured a kill and won set one 25-21.
In set two High Point got off to a slow start and struggled to get any hits to fall on the offense. The Panthers fell behind 8-3 before landing a kill from Freeland. WKU stretched its lead to seven, going up 11-4. Bukovcan collected a kill and a block to bring some life back to the Panthers as
Allie Gray dropped in a service ace to close the gap to 11-7.
Through the next 12 rallies, the Hilltoppers continued to gain momentum in their system and took a 20-10 lead. Freeland picked up three more kills before the end of the set, but it was not enough to get HPU back in the game, resulting in the 25-17 loss in the second set.
High Point had a flat start in set three and went down 10-2. Mid-way through the set, the Panthers stacked together three points from a WKU service error and kills from Bukovcan and
Gabby Hill to trail 15-9.
After going down 23-15 late in the set, the Panthers worked together to gain four straight points with the help of Freeland and Bukovcan in the middle to make it a four-point game. WKU secured a kill, before ending the set on a service ace to win the third set 25-19.
Extra Stats:
UP NEXT:
High Point will take on the host team ETSU on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tennessee. This will be Game two of the Buccaneer Classic presented by the Tri-Cities Airport. Follow along with live updates on X (@HPUVB).
#GoHPU
