• For the second straight match, sophomore Camryn Freiberg led HPU in kills with 16 while hitting at a .351 clip.
• Sophomore Haley Barnes chipped in with a double-double posting 15 kills and 14 digs.
• HPU is back at home on Friday, Oct. 16 to host Winthrop at 7:00 p.m. before entertaining Presbyterian on Saturday, Oct. 17 at 2:00 p.m.
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Huge performances from sophomores Camryn Freiberg and Haley Barnes lead the High Point University volleyball team to a 3-1 win over Liberty in the Millis Center on Saturday.
The Panthers (13-7, 3-1) cruised through the first two sets (25-16 and 25-20) before dropping the third frame (25-19) to the Flames (9-9, 4-1). However, the Purple & White responded and closed the match with a dramatic 27-25 triumph in the final frame.
“That was a huge win for our program and for our team this year,” head coach Jason Oliver said. “Obviously we came out with a lot of focus and played as well as we have all year. To watch it come full circle and execute so well at the beginning and the end of the match was great to see.”
Sophomore Camryn Freiberg was extremely efficient on the day registering a .351 attack percentage en route to a match-best 16 kills. Meanwhile, fellow sophomore Haley Barnes posted her 10th double-double of the year with 15 kills and 14 digs.
Senior Annemarie Chin’s 21 digs led HPU to a 74-72 advantage over the Flames. At setter, senior Gabi Mirand dished out 46 assists and racked up 14 digs and five kills.
Joining Barnes and Freiberg on the attack were freshmen Abby Broadstreet (11 kills) and Molly Livingston (nine kills). Livingston played a key role in the Panthers’ blocking scheme with seven blocks while Barnes chipped in with five.
With Mirand orchestrating the offense, the Purple & White posted a .316 to .188 edge in attack percentage and a 62-52 margin in kills.
HPU came out hot in the first set to take a 25-16 victory. The Panthers hit an impressive .429 hitting percentage in the frame while holding the visitors to just .059 attack percentage. Freiberg led the way for HPU with five kills as Livingston found the on all four of her attack attempts in the set.
Freiberg continued her torrent pace with six kills in the second set to lead HPU to a 25-20 win. The Flames took an early 2-0 advantage, but the Purple & White responded with an 8-2 run (8-4). From there, Freiberg and Barnes (five kills) paced the offense as the Panthers ran away for the 25-20 victory.
Liberty responded in the third set building a 6-2 edge in the early going. The Panthers battled back within two (14-12) before the Flames closed the frame on an 11-7 spurt to take the set 25-19 despite five more kills from Barnes.
Two kills from Broadstreet pushed the Panthers out to a 3-0 lead as the home team took control of the fourth set. The Flames bounced right back to cut the deficit to one (4-3). However, HPU utilized a 7-3 run to build an 11-6 advantage. But once again, Liberty came back to knot the score (17-17).
Later, the Flames pulled ahead for the first time in the set on a block by Hannah Weidner (20-19). But kills from Barnes and freshman Jordan Hefner allowed the Panthers to regain the lead at 22-21. After Liberty evened the score, Broadstreet’s 11th kill gave HPU a 23-22 advantage. From there, the lead went back and forth until consecutive kills by Mirand and Freiberg shut the door on Liberty (27-25).
The Panthers will be back in the Millis Center next weekend when they host Winthrop (Friday at 7:00 p.m.) and Presbyterian (Saturday at 2:00 p.m.).