CLEVELAND, OHIO – The High Point University volleyball team lost the opening match of the Cleveland State Invitational to Cleveland State on Friday in Cleveland, Ohio. The Panthers struggled to overcome a slow start, losing to the tournament host 3-0 (25-15, 25-13, 25-22).
Junior Chelsea Davis led the Panthers with 13 kills and sophomore Annemarie Chin tallied a match-high 19 digs. Senior Maddie Simpson recorded a double-double with 22 assists and 10 digs.
Grace Kauth led the Vikings with nine kills an Ally Beck added eight in the win. The win improves Cleveland State to 4-1on the season while HPU moves to 2-2.
The Panthers made costly mistakes in the first set, hitting -.026 with 10 kills and 11 errors and lost 25-15. HPU also had three errors at the service line in the opening frame. The Vikings went on a nine-point run, taking an 8-5 advantage to 17-5 to break open the set. Savannah Angel put down a kill to end the streak but HPU lost the set 25-15.
Cleveland State sided out at 92 percent, keeping HPU from going on a streak of its own in the second frame and High Point lost the set 25-13. Grace Kauth served up two aces for the Vikings to give them an 8-3 lead. CSU maintained at least a five-point lead for the remainder of the set.
High Point showed a lot of fight in the third set, losing a close battle 25-22. The Panthers took a 6-3 lead on a block by Crystal Widom and Katie Vincent. CSU scored the next three points to knot the score up, 6-6. The score was tied six more times in the frame, the final time at 18-18 after a kill by Davis. Kerry Winchester gave Cleveland State back the lead on the next point and the Vikings held off HPU to win the frame 25-22.
Angel finished the match with four kills and a .429 attack percentage. She also had three blocks including one solo. Junior Kristin Heldt added six kills.
The Panthers will play two more games in the Cleveland State Invitational on Saturday. HPU will play UC Irvine at 10 a.m. and IPFW at 4:30 p.m. UC Irvine is 4-0 on the season including a win over IPFW in the first game of this weekend’s tournament.