HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University volleyball team got double-digit kills from three players en route to a 3-0 win over Charleston Southern before a crowd of 1,190 on Saturday afternoon at the Millis Center. Senior Courtney Johnk led the team with 12 kills.
“As a group we came out determined to make every touch matter and we found a way to win,” said head coach Jason Oliver. “Seniors Jamie McDonald and Courtney Johnk came out and believed in the system and the technique and gave a dominant performance. I am so thankful to all the fans that supported us this weekend.”
Johnk posted a match-high 12 kills and McDonald and sophomore Kristin Heldt tallied 10 kills each. Sophomore Chelsea Davis led the team with 17 digs and freshman Annemarie Chin came up with 16 digs.
High Point improves to 13-6 and 2-1 in the Big South with the win. Charleston Southern falls to 7-12 and 2-2 in league play.
Caity Farus slid out to the right side and put down a kill to give HPU a 9-8 lead in the first set. It sparked a three-point run for the Panthers that included an ace by Davis and a kill by Heldt. High Point maintained the lead for the duration of the set. CSU couldn’t handle a tough serve from Annemarie Chin and sent the pass back over the net. McDonald slammed the ball down for a kill to bring up set point, 24-16. The Buccs committed an attack error to seal the win for HPU, 25-16.
The Panthers took a 7-6 lead in the second set on a kill by Heldt and slowly extended the lead throughout the frame. High Point sided out at 78 percent in the set and prevented the Buccaneers from going on any long runs to get back in the contest. High Point won the second set 25-18 to take a 2-0 lead in the match. McDonald had five kills on nine swings to pace the Panthers.
Charleston Southern stormed out to a 10-6 lead in the third set. The Panthers slowly climbed back in the set, tying it up 14-14 and 16-16 on kills by Farus. Johnk put the team on her back in the final plays with kills to give HPU the lead at 22-21 and 23-22. Meredith Parrott committed an attack error for CSU to bring up match point for the Panthers. On the final play Charleston Southern dished the ball out to Siraya Windsor but her attack was blocked by Farus and Maddie Simpson for the25-22 win.
Simpson finished the night with 35 assists, eight digs, three kills and two blocks. Farus recorded six kills and a .462 attack percentage along with two blocks.
The Panthers will head to Virginia next weekend for a pair of Big South games. On Friday HPU will play at Radford at 7 p.m. The Panthers will play defending-Big South Champion Liberty on Saturday at 2 p.m.