ROCK HILL, S.C. – The High Point University volleyball team fell to Winthrop 0-3, 8-25, 20-25 and 21-25, on Friday, Nov. 9 in Rock Hill, S.C.
“I thought we ran into a team tonight that has our number a little bit,” head coach Ryan Meek said. “They were one step ahead of us in everything they did and we tried to do. We didn’t do a great job adjusting or stepping up to the challenge. Winthrop is a fantastic team and they showed it tonight. We still have an opportunity to lock up a conference championship tomorrow against Gardner-Webb, but we’ll need to play much better and have more energy than we did tonight.”
High Point was out hit by Winthrop .078-.226. The Eagles had 45 kills to the Panthers’ 25. Senior Katie Tylman led HPU with eight kills on a .286 hitting percentage. Sophomore Abby Bottomley was the defensive leader with 13 digs for the Panthers.
The Eagles were in control the entire set jumping out to a 19-3 lead. They took the set 25-8. The Eagles recorded 16 kills on a .351 hitting percentage compared to the Panthers’ five kills on a -.048 hitting percentage.
The Panthers lost the second set 20-25. The Eagles logged 16 kills on .121 hitting, while High Point had eight kills on .065 hitting.
Winthrop took the third set 25-21. The Panthers posted 12 kills on .209 shooting, while the Eagles logged 16 kills on a .200 hitting percentage.
Senior Phoebe Wu led the Winthrop with 12 kills, while junior Makayla Doyle was tops on the team in hitting percentage at .500. Wu posted a double-double with a match-high 14 digs.
Up next, the Panthers will travel to Boiling Springs, N.C. on Saturday, Nov. 10 at 4 p.m. to take on Gardner-Webb for the last Big South Regular Season match of the season.