ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The High Point University volleyball team dropped a tight four-set match to UNC Asheville on Friday at the Justice Center in Asheville, N.C. Junior Chelsea Davis tallied a double-double with 22 kills and 12 digs in the 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 14-25, 23-25) loss.
“It was a really hard-fought match between two teams who really wanted it,” said head coach Jason Oliver. “This was a tough environment and we responded in spurts. I am excited as we move in to tomorrow to see the team respond and come out fighting.”
Davis led all players with 22 kills, also coming up with 12 digs and one service ace. Junior Kristin Heldt added 13 kills and nine digs and junior Katie Vincent tallied eight kills and seven blocks. Sophomore Annemarie Chin had 20 digs.
Christine Lakatos led the Bulldogs with 17 kills and Anna Moore added 11 kills. Rachel Wells had a match-high 36 digs.
High Point drops to 11-13 overall and 5-4 in Big South play. UNC Asheville improves to 15-10 overall and 5-4 in league play.
The first set was a battle with 13 ties that UNC Asheville narrowly won. HPU’s biggest lead was a 20-17 advantage on an attack error by Lakatos. The Bulldogs called a timeout and slowly fought their way back to a 20-20 tie. Anna Moore put down a kill to give Asheville the lead 21-20. After a kill by Davis, another Asheville attack error tied the set for the final time, 22-22. HPU had two attack errors in the final three points and Asheville held on to win 25-23.
The Panthers tied the match 1-1 with a 25-23 win in set two. Heldt broke an 18-18 tie with a kill that spurred a four-point run that gave High Point a 22-18 lead. The Panthers fought off a late push by the Bulldogs and held on for the 25-23 win.
The Bulldogs came out red hot in the third set, hitting .393 on the way to a 25-14 win. UNC Asheville jumped out to an early 11-2 lead. High Point got within five points of the lead twice, 12-18 and 13-17, both on kills by Davis. The Bulldogs finished the frame with a 6-1 run to win 25-14.
High Point held a 23-20 in the fourth set but it was another late push by UNC Asheville that won the match. The Bulldogs finished the match with a 5-0 run to win the set 25-23 and the match 3-1.
Senior Maddie Simpson finished the match with 42 assists, 16 digs and four blocks. Freshman Megan Kennedy added six digs, four kills and three blocks.
High Point will head to Gardner-Webb for a 5 p.m. match on Saturday. The Runnin’ Bulldogs topped Campbell in four sets on Friday.