HPU Volleyball Makes Quick Work of Campbell

BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The High Point University volleyball team had one of its best performances of the year on Friday, Nov. 8, taking down rival Campbell University in straight sets. The Panthers were hitting at a high rate all match long, hitting above .250 in each set.

“I thought we played a complete match tonight,” head coach Ryan Meek said after the win. “I saw us make the mid-match adjustments that we needed to and play with poise and confidence throughout. We talked about our Florida State match either being our pinnacle or our springboard and I thought tonight we used it as a springboard. Now we’ll get some rest before taking on a physical and talented Hampton team tomorrow.”

The teams traded sideouts for the first nine points before a three-point HPU run gave the Panthers a lead it would only lose once it the first set. Campbell fought back to knot the set at 9-9 before High Point took nine of the next 10 points to open an 18-10 lead. Freshmen Maggie Salley and Megan Kratzer each had a kill during the run, as did sophomore Gabrielle Idlebird. The Panthers picked up two more points on the run via service ace, with one each from senior Jenna Smith and freshman Macy Miller. The Fighting Camels were only able to take two points off the final deficit after that point, as a block from Idlebird and freshman Annie Sullivan, in her return from injury, gave High Point the opening set, 25-19.

Set two started similar to set one, with neither team able to pull away until High Point went on a four-point run to build a lead for good. Four different Panthers picked up three kills in the middle frame, Kratzer, Sullivan, and freshmen Lucy Dumford and Kaley Rammelsberg. HPU put the set out of reach with a 7-2 run that pushed the lead to 20-11 and included another ace from Miller and two blocks, with Idlebird helping on both and Salley and Kratzer teaming up with her on them. Campbell picked up the next four points after a timeout but the Panthers won five of the next six to take the set 25-16, capping it on a Kratzer kill.

High Point built a lead early in the third set, scoring six unanswered points to double up the Fighting Camels, 10-5. Campbell cut the lead to as little as three, but the straw that broke the Fighting Camels’ back was a 9-3 Panther run to make it a nine-point affair, 22-13. The hosts managed the next two points before HPU took the last three it needed for the win, completing the sweep with a kill from sophomore Brantley Rhodes, her only kill of the night.

The Panthers play their final regular-season road match of the year tomorrow, Nov. 9 when they take on the Hampton Lady Pirates. First serve is at 2 p.m. and it can be seen live on ESPN+.

Site: Buies Creek, N.C. (Gore Arena)
Score: High Point 3, Campbell 0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-15)
Records: HPU: 18-10 (10-1 Big South), CU: 13-11 (7-4 Big South)
Next HPU Event: Saturday, Nov. 9 — at Hampton (Hampton, Va.), 2 p.m.