HIGH POINT, N.C. – After rallying to win the third set the High Point University volleyball team lost to Loyola Marymount 3-1 (12-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-19) on Saturday at the Millis Center. Sophomore Kristin Heldt led the team with 13 kills and senior Lauren Bell dished out 36 assists.
“We showed moments of great play but couldn’t find the consistency we needed,” said head coach Jason Oliver. “A lot of that is a credit to Loyola Marymount. They are a well-coached, disciplined team. It was good for our team to see LMU play with the type of consistency we need to have.”
High Point also got 10 kills from sophomore Chelsea Davis and 18 digs from freshman Annemarie Chin. Senior Courtney Johnk added nine kills and four digs.
The Panthers avoided the sweep with a third-set win over the Lions. HPU led 17-16 in the fourth set, trying to force another five-set match. Loyola Marymount closed the fourth frame on a 7-2 run to win the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.
Both teams limited the errors in the first set. High Point made just two attack errors while LMU made only one but the Lions were able to outhit HPU .447 to .200 and won the frame 25-12.
HPU kept pace with Loyola Marymount early in the second set, tying the frame 11-11 on a kill by Jamie McDonald. The Lions went on a 9-2 run to open up a 20-13 lead. HPU scored three late points on kills by Heldt and McDonald to cut LMU’s lead to 23-18. Felicia Arriola had a kill to bring up set point for the Lions. Heldt held off the win with a kill but Arriola answered with a kill for the 25-19 win.
HPU held off the sweep with a 25-23 win in the third set. LMU led 22-21 in the frame when Davis and Johnk put down back-to-back kills to give HPU a 23-22 lead. After a Loyola Marymount timeout Davis tallied her seventh kill of the night to bring up set point for HPU. The Lions fought off one set point before a kill by Johnk won the set for HPU 25-23. The Panthers hit .333 in the set.
The Panthers held a 17-13 lead in the fourth set but the Lions were able to force HPU in to mistakes and come back to win the set 25-19.LMU closed the set on a 7-2 run with four points coming on High Point errors.
High Point is 6-4 on the season and Loyola Marymount improves to 5-3.
High Point will face Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. in the final match of the HPU Classic. The Hokies beat LMU in five sets on Friday and will face George Mason in Saturday’s second match.