• Freshman Molly Livingston posted a team-high 11 kills while hitting at a .474 clip.
• Sophomore Haley Barnes added her ninth double-double of the year with 10 kills and 13 digs.
• Due to inclement weather, HPU will not be continuing south to Charleston Southern on Saturday. No make-up date for that match has been announced.
CONWAY, S.C. – The High Point University volleyball team took the first set in Conway, S.C., but couldn’t hold on and fell in four sets to Coastal Carolina on Friday night.
The Panthers (11-7, 1-1) earned a hard-fought 26-24 win in the first set before the Chanticleers (11-4, 3-0) bounced back to take the next three sets. The defeat snapped a 6-match winning streak for the Purple & White – the program’s longest in five seasons.
“Coastal made some great plays when it mattered,” head coach Jason Oliver said. “There are a lot of positives to take from this match and you can’t always say that about a loss. We know what we need to work on and I fully expect our team to make those adjustments over the course of the season.”
Freshman Molly Livingston led the offense with 11 kills and hit .474 on the night. Meanwhile, sophomore Haley Barnes chipped in with her ninth double-double of the season (10 kills, 13 digs.) Three other Panthers – freshmen Jordan Hefner and Abby Broadstreet and sophomore Camryn Freiberg – collected eight kills apiece.
From her setter position, senior Gabi Mirand orchestrated the balanced attack dishing out 33 assists while also picking up a season-high 16 digs. Senior Annemarie Chin paced the HPU defense with 18 digs. Livingston led the charge at the net with two solo blocks and one block assist in the match.
On the night, HPU earned a +3 (76-73) margin in digs while tying CCU with three service aces. The Chanticleers, however, posted a .235 to .110 edge in attack percentage.
Two early kills apiece from Livingston and Freiberg sparked the Panthers to a 9-6 advantage before Coastal charged back to tie the score at 9-9. From there, the teams went back and forth before a kill by Hefner broke a 24-24 tie. On the ensuing point, the Chanticleers were called for a setting error as HPU took the opening frame 26-24.
After hitting .361 in the first set, the Purple & White couldn’t keep up that pace and dropped the second and third (25-17, 25-20). In the middle frames, CCU held HPU below a .100 attack percentage in both sets.
As they have all season, the Panthers fought right back to take a 13-9 lead in the fourth set. However, a 7-2 run by the Chanticleers gave the home team a 16-15 edge. Later HPU scratched its way back into the lead (17-16), but couldn’t hold off CCU, which took the set 25-21.
The Panthers’ previously scheduled match at Charleston Southern for Saturday, Oct. 3 has been postponed with a make-up date to be determined. The Purple & White will be back in the Millis Center on Friday night against Radford at 7:00 p.m. before playing host to Liberty on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.