HPU Volleyball Loses To Coastal Carolina In Big South Play

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point university volleyball team lost to Coastal Carolina in five sets on Friday at the Millis Center. The Panthers won the first two sets but couldn’t hold off a late push by CCU. It is the first five-set loss of the season for High Point.

The Panthers took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 win in set one and a 25-13 win in set two. The Chanticleers edged HPU in a tight third set, 25-23 and won the match with wins in sets four and five, 25-17 and 15-12.

“When you look at the stat line at the end of the match we had more kills, more digs, more aces. We had better stats in every category and still managed to lose,” said head coach Jason Oliver. “We just got in our own way. When it mattered Coastal played really well. They forced a fifth set and hit .368 in the final set.”

Sophomore Chelsea Davis led the Panthers with a career-high 24 digs and 12 kills. Senior Courtney Johnk also put up 12 kills and senior Jamie McDonald added 11 kills. Freshman Wavie Chin tallied 14 digs in the loss.

Johnk recorded five of her 12 kills in the first set to lead HPU to a 25-19 win. The Panthers put up six blocks and forced Coastal Carolina in to eight attack errors.

High Point kept the Chanticleers out of system in the second set, forcing CCU to hit -.071 in the frame. Redshirt-sophomore Maddie Simpson had four kills to go with 10 assists in the 25-13 win.

Coastal Carolina edged HPU in the third set, 25-23. Davis scrambled to dig a ball that went over the net and found the court for a kill to bring HPU within one point, 22-23. After HPU and Coastal Carolina traded points, Gabriella Horvath sealed the set for CCU with a kill, 25-23.

The Chanticleers carried the momentum in to the final two sets to hand HPU its first Big South loss of the season. High Point falls to 12-6 on the season and 1-1 in league play. Coastal Carolina improves to 4-8 and 2-1 in Big South action. HPU is not 5-1 in five-set matches.

Simpson finished the match with 37 assists. Johnk had five aces and seven digs to go with her 12 kills. McDonald also added seven blocks.

High Point returns to the Millis Center on Saturday at 4 p.m. for a Big South match against Charleston Southern.