Wake Forest Outlasts HPU Volleyball In Four Sets

• Sophomore Haley Barnes racked up her third double-double of the tournament with 15 kills and 12 digs.
• Sophomore Camryn Freiberg came up big for HPU with 16 kills – a career high – while hitting .375 on the night.
• Senior Annemarie Chin earned a spot on the all-tournament team.
• High Point will be back in the Millis Center on Tuesday when it hosts North Carolina A&T at 7:00 p.m. in the last home non-conference game of the year.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University volleyball team fell 3-1 to Wake Forest in the final match of the Panther Invitational in the Millis Center.

The Demon Deacons (6-3) took the first set (25-15) before the Panthers bounced back and took the second (25-21). But HPU couldn’t complete the comeback and dropped the third and fourth sets (27-25 and 25-17).

“The volleyball that we played this weekend was better than we’ve played all season long,” head coach Jason Oliver said. “We played three really good opponents and when you look at all the matches, they could’ve gone either way at any moment. I was pleased that we showed a lot of backbone and we’re going to try and grow on these improvements.”

Sophomore Camryn Freiberg had a huge performance setting a new career high with 17 kills while hitting at a .375 clip. Likewise, sophomore Haley Barnes had a solid night posting her third double-double of the weekend (15 kills and 12 digs).

Senior Annemarie Chin anchored the defense with 18 digs to wrap up a spot on the all-tournament team while freshman Jordan Hefner racked up six blocks as Freiberg tallied four.

The visitors tallied an 8-1 margin in aces and a 61-53 advantage in kills. Defensively, it was closer as Wake Forest registered just four more digs than HPU (63-59).

The Demon Deacons came out hot in the first set and built a 16-4 lead. From there, the visitors cruised to a 25-15 win as they out-hit the Panthers .312 to .029.

However, HPU fought back in the second set to earn a 25-21 win. Two kills from Freiberg sparked the Panthers to a 9-4 lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Barnes finished the set with five kills while Freiberg added four as the Purple & White registered a .275 attack percentage in the frame.

The third frame was a back and forth affair as neither team was able to build more than a two-point lead. But in the end, it was Wake Forest that was able to pull out a 27-25 victory. Despite dropping the frame, Freiberg and Barnes had big sets with eight kills and six kills, respectively.

Once again, the neither squad could get any separation in the fourth set until the visitors built an 18-15 advantage. The lead continued to grow as Wake Forest pulled away for a 25-17 win.

The Panthers will return to the Millis Center on Tuesday when they host North Carolina A&T at 7:00 p.m.