RADFORD, Va. – The High Point University volleyball team finished the 2026 regular-season on Friday night and were crowned the Big South Regular-Season Champions for the fourth straight season after going 12-2 in league play. The Panthers traveled to Radford to play the team's final match of the regular-season and fell 3-1.
"Radford beat us tonight," Head Coach
Ryan Meek stated. "We had zero interest in meeting their level all night and every time we had opportunities we made bad decisions and mistakes. We haven't been present mentally since our Winthrop win and we got beat tonight because once again, our hubris was too much to overcome and Radford called us on it. Hopefully we can get it fixed before next weekend."
Site: Dedmon Center
Score: High Point 1, Radford 3
Record: High Point (18-7,12-2 Big South), Radford (15-13,9-5 Big South)
Élodie Lalonde was the lone Panther to reach double-digit kills and led the match for HPU, registering 15 kills on a .371 hitting percentage while adding 10 digs for a double-double.
Addison Freeland was efficient on the middle attack recording eight kills on a .400 hitting percentage with seven block assists. The block was an area that the Panthers led in throughout the match, picking up 13 blocks to Radford's eight.
Throughout all four matches, High Point held the advantage at various times. In the opening set, the Panthers went up 14-9 on the Highlanders before Radford made strides with a 10-2 run to go up 19-16.
Kinnady Boothe regained the serve back for HPU after a strong kill on the outside to lead to a 4-0 run for the Panthers and tie the set at 22 all. Lalonde tied the set at 24 all to force extra points in the set. Radford picked up two back-to-back kills to take set one, 26-24.
In set two, High Point took an early 8-4 lead with a double block from Freeland and Boothe. A 5-0 run from Radford put the Panthers behind by two-points, 11-9. Lalonde punched down two back-to-back kills to put High Point back on top, 13-12. Following the one-point advantage, Radford took the lead and held onto it through the remainder of the set, taking set two, 25-20.
High Point took advantage of the extended time between sets and regrouped for the third. Overall the set was even on the attack as HPU registered 11 kills to Radford's 13 but forced the Highlanders to play out of system and pick up seven errors, three more than the Panthers. After leading 11-7 in the set, High Point made its run right before the media timeout, going up 16-8 after an
Aisha Keric kill. The Panthers maintained the lead by eight with kills from Freeland and
Gabby Hill to make it 23-15. Two attack errors from Radford gave High Point its first set win, 25-18.
Both teams made runs early in set four, the first from Radford who took a 9-5 lead over HPU. The Panthers answered and tied the set at nine all before taking a 12-10 lead after three straight middle kills from Freeland. Lalonde then heated up with three straight kills of her own and kept High Point ahead at 17-15. A service ace from
Remy Catojo tied the set at 20 all. Hill put the Panthers within one point, 22-21. After going down 24-21, Freeland kept the set alive with a power hit in the middle but a kill from Radford ended set four, 25-22.
UP NEXT: High Point will await the announcement of the Big South Tournament seedings for the Big South Tournament which will take place November 20-22 in Rock Hill, S.C.
#GoHPU
