HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University volleyball team rallied from a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth set but couldn’t complete the comeback, falling to Campbell 3-2 on Friday at the Millis Center. Junior Chelsea Davis posted a double-double in the Big South opener.
“This is a tough loss to swallow,” said head coach Jason Oliver. “We didn’t play consistently enough to get the win, despite having some moments of amazing volleyball. In the third and fourth sets we showed we can play with anyone in the Big South but we let Campbell go on runs when it mattered most.”
Davis led all attackers with 23 kills while adding 17 digs. Sophomore Annemarie Chin posted a match-high 34 digs, tying her career high. She also had 34 digs against Elon on Sept. 10. Junior Katie Vincent hit .300 with 11 kills and four blocks in the match.
Jessica Groen had 20 kills to lead the Camels while Lindsey Coats tallied 10 kills. Mary Crema led Campbell with 24 digs.
With the loss HPU starts Big South play 0-1 and moves to 6-10 on the season. Campbell improves to 10-7 and 1-0 in league play.
The Panthers stormed out to an early lead in the first set, 18-11, after a kill by Davis. Campbell slowly chipped in to the lead, using an 11-4 run to tie the set 22-22 on an ace by Groen. HPU was able to side out and bring up set point, 24-23, on another Davis kill down the line. The Camels scored the final three points of the frame, two on HPU errors, to pull off the comeback and win the set 26-24.
Campbell controlled the second set from the beginning, opening up a 17-10 lead. The Panthers used a six-point run to get within two, 18-16 but the Camels got a kill from Groen to end the run. CU went on to win the set 25-18.
High Point rebounded with an impressive 25-15 win in the third set. The Panthers hit .294 with 16 kills while Campbell hit .000 with five kills and five errors. Back-to-back kills from freshman Savannah Angel gave HPU a 14-8 lead and they rolled to a 25-15 victory.
The Panthers held set point, 24-15 in the fourth set, but the Camels didn’t go down without a fight. Campbell fought off six set points to make it a 24-20 HPU lead. Junior Chelsea Blanford blocked an attack by Groen to win the frame for the Panthers.
Groen recorded five kills in the fifth set to lead Campbell to a 15-10 win. The Camels led 11-5 after a Groen kill but the Panthers answered with a five-point run. Junior Kristin Heldt had two aces to cap off the run and pull HPU within one 11-10. Groen scored the next two points to give Campbell back the momentum and CU held on for the 15-10 victory.
Angel finished the night with nine kills and Blanford added five kills, four blocks and two aces. Sophomore Wavie Chin tallied 11 digs while senior Maddie Simpson recorded a double-double with 25 assists and 11 digs.
The Panthers will have a week off before traveling to Coastal Carolina next Friday for a 7 p.m. match with the Chanticleers.