HPU Volleyball Falls To Marshall In A 5-Set Thriller

• Sophomore Haley Barnes posted her second double-double in as many nights with a career-high 25 kills and 23 digs.
• Seniors Annemarie Chin (33) and Wavie Chin (11) combined for 44 of the Panthers’ 110 digs in the match.
• The Panthers get the afternoon off before hosting Wake Forest in the final match of the Panther Invitational at 7:00 p.m. in the Millis Center.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University volleyball team erased a 2-0 deficit, but fell in five sets to Marshall in the Millis Center on Saturday morning.

The Thundering Herd (8-1) jumped out to a 2-0 lead with 25-18 and 25-23 wins. However, the Panthers (5-5) fought back winning the third and fourth sets (25-21 and 25-17) before dropping the fifth set (15-10).

“What a hard-fought match,” head coach Jason Oliver said. “After falling behind 2-0, we showed a lot of character coming back. Haley Barnes had an unbelievable match and we need some others to match her intensity, which we happened in the third and fourth games. But all the credit goes to Marshall and their mentality, which is second to none and it shows in their 8-1 record.”

HPU was led by sophomore Haley Barnes’ career outing. The Neenah, Wis. native tallied a career high in kills (25) while equaling her career best in digs (23). Senior Annemarie Chin paced the defense with 33 digs while senior Wavie Chin chipped in with a season-high 11 digs.

Redshirt-junior Savannah Angel added seven kills and three blocks while freshman Molly Livingston registered six kills and four blocks. Meanwhile, junior Megan Kennedy just missed a double-double with nine kills and 21 digs.

The Purple & White tallied a season-high 110 digs while the Thundering Herd posted 99. HPU also held a 57-56 advantage in kills in the evenly played match.

The Panthers came out hot and took a 4-1 lead in the opening frame. However, Marshall answered with an extended 15-7 run to take a 16-11 advantage. From there, the visitors maintained the lead and took the frame 25-18 despite four kills and five digs from Barnes.

In the second set, the Thundering Herd raced out to a 8-4 advantage, but the Purple & White clawed back to tie it at 8-all. Marshall, then, bounced back and slowly regained its 4-point lead (18-14). However, junior Greta Griswold came in to serve for HPU and led a 4-0 run to knot the score (18-18). Neither team could build a lead and were tied 21-21 before the visitors scored four of the last six points to win 25-23.

HPU showed its resiliency in third set to earn a 25-21 win. The Panthers led the set from the beginning until Marshall took its first lead 20-19. However, the home team responded with a 5-1 run to force a fourth game. Barnes paced HPU in the set with a game-high eight kills.

The momentum built in the third-set win for the Panthers carried over to the fourth as HPU stormed past Marshall for a 25-17 win. The home team never trailed in the frame as Kennedy piled up six kills in the set.

However to comeback fell short as the visitors took command of the final set scoring six of the first eight points to build a 6-2 lead. As they did all morning, the Panthers battled back to tie the score at 6-6, but Marshall took the next five points (11-6) and held on for a 15-10 win.

HPU will be back in action on Saturday night against Wake Forest in the conclusion of the Panther Invitational at 7:00 p.m. in the Millis Center.