Tylman propels High Point to 3-1 win over Liberty

• Sophomore Katie Tylman racked up 15 kills while posting a .480 hitting percentage to go with three blocks.
• Sophomore Molly Livingston chipped in with 10 kills and two blocks in the victory.
• Junior Amy Pilat posted 24 digs and a service ace from her libero spot.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Sophomore Katie Tylman produced an efficient offensive outing to lift the High Point University volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over Liberty on Friday night in the Millis Center.

Tylman paced the Panthers (10-5, 1-1) with 15 kills as the home squad posted a 53-43 edge in kills over the Flames (5-8, 0-1).

“That was a good Friday match after a disappointing Tuesday outing for our team,” head coach Tom Mendoza said. “That’s the type of thing we want to see throughout the season. Not every match is going to go the way we want it to go, but when you have a group that comes back with a strong performance, then you’re excited about that team. We talk about our hitting being a symptom of our first two contacts and Katie had a great game and that’s due to our passing and setting tonight that put her in a position to kill the ball.”

Along with her 15 kills, the Charlotte, N.C. product added three blocks while hitting .480 on the night. Similarly, sophomore Molly Livingston tallied 10 kills and two blocks while hitting .292.

Overall, neither offense was able to play consistently throughout the match as HPU hit .153 while Liberty could only muster a .109 attack percentage. Defensively, the Flames earned a 71-68 edge in digs while the Panthers recorded eight blocks to the Flames’ seven.

Junior Haley Barnes registered a double-double with 14 kills and 15 digs while junior Amy Pilat added 24 digs from the back row.

In the opening frame, five different Panthers posted kills as High Point jumped out to a 19-12 lead. However, Liberty battled back to within two (24-22) before an attack error gave HPU the frame (25-22).

But the late run allowed Liberty to build momentum, which allowed it to vault into a 9-3 advantage in the second frame. Then, redshirt-senior Savannah Angel added a kill to spark a run that brought HPU back to within three (11-8). However, it wasn’t enough as the Flames pulled away for a 25-17 victory.

The Panthers, however, came out of the break on fire racking up a .344 attack percentage in the third set while cruising to a 25-19 triumph. Tylman anchored the onslaught with four of HPU’s 15 kills in the frame.

The right-side hitter kept it going in the fourth set with consecutive kills as HPU took a 2-0 edge. But Liberty wouldn’t go quietly as the two teams went back and forth throughout the set.

The Flames took an 8-7 lead before Angel evened the score at 8-all. Liberty followed with an attack error to give High Point the lead. Despite leading the rest of the way, High Point was never able to build a three-point edge as took a 23-21 lead.

From there, Liberty cut the deficit to one before Barnes sandwiched kills around a kill by the Flames to give HPU a 25-23 triumph.

The Purple & White are back on the Millis Center court at 4 p.m. on Saturday against UNC Asheville.