PITTSBURGH, Pa. – On Saturday evening, High Point University volleyball took on its second ranked opponent this season, facing the No. 2 University of Pittsburgh Panthers. HPU rallied in the third set before falling 3-0 to the Pitt Panthers.
"Pitt is one of the best volleyball teams I've ever coached against," Head Coach
Ryan Meek stated. "When we battled and played within our system, I thought we showed what we can do. We have to have more trust and belief in ourselves and what we can accomplish. When we play within a system and battle we've shown we can play with anyone. Now we need to figure out how to do that all the time."
Site: Victory Heights Arena & Sports Performance Center
Score: High Point 0, #2 Pitt 3
Record: High Point (3-4), #2 Pitt (9-0)
High Point battled against the No. 2 ranked team in the country, making for an exciting game in front of a packed crowd for Pitt's second home game of the season in its new arena. HPU was led by
Aisha Keric and Élodie Lalonde on opposite pins as each contributed seven kills. Overall High Point did well to balance the attack as
Gabby Hill,
Addison Freeland and
Remy Catojo all had three-plus kills each. Catojo also finished with 22 assists.
Kicking off the match, High Point scored its first three points off Pitt errors. The first kill of the game was registered by Bukovcan who put down a shot off a slide to tie the set at four all. Freeland pounded a shot through the middle block and kept HPU within one point, trailing 8-7.
Freeland tagged her second kill of the set and Keric heated up with two kills to make it 11-10, trailing by one before trailing 15-12 at the media timeout. Following the timeout, Hill powered through a strong kill to keep HPU within three points, at 16-13.
After holding their own early, Pitt took control midway through the set and extended its lead to seven before going up eight and winning set one, 25-17.
In set two, High Point competed early through the first few points as Keric tied the set at three all with a right side kill. Pitt registered two service errors and a hitting error, keeping HPU within two points at 10-8. Pitt's Olivia Babcock heated up and sparked a run for the blue and yellow Panthers which lead to a nine point deficit for High Point, trailing 17-8. HPU was unable to make up the point differential and fell 25-11 in set two.
The third set was exciting as High Point turned up the heat and put pressure on the No. 2 team in the country. An early double block from Keric and Bukovcan set the tone and put the Panthers up 5-2. Pitt answered and tied the set at five all but High Point was not rattled.
A solo block from Bukovcan against the reigning National Player of the Year, Babcock, boosted HPU's confidence with a 7-5 lead. After an 8-6 lead with a Hill kill, the Pitt Panthers began making errors registering three in a row to give High Point an 11-8 lead.
Bukovcan and Catojo worked together midway through the set to help High Point gain separation and go up 17-11. A double block from Bukovcan and Hill followed by a kill from Hill kept HPU ahead by a six-point margin at 19-13.
The Pitt fan base started cheering and chanting, making the arena loud and electric. A right side kill from Keric kept HPU up 20-15 and the Pitt Panthers on their toes. A four point swing by Pitt closed the game to 21-20 with High Point still leading. Back-to-back kills from Lalonde helped HPU secure a three-point lead, at 23-20.
Pitt answered with five straight points after going to their best player Babcock to take set three 25-23.
High Point showed competitiveness and talent against one of the best programs and teams in the country, giving the team something to build on before going into Big South conference play in two weeks.
UP NEXT: High Point returns to the Victory Heights Arena & Sports Performance Center to take on Jacksonville University on Sunday, September 13 for the final game in Pittsburgh.
#GoHPU
