HPU Volleyball Panthers send out seniors with 3-0 sweep of PC

• Junior Haley Barnes racked up 12 kills to become the 10th Panther in the program’s Division I era with 1,000 career kills.
• Sophomore Molly Livingston registered 12 kills, four blocks, four digs and three aces.
• A day after breaking High Point’s single-season blocking record, sophomore Jordan Hefner added seven blocks in the win.

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University volleyball team celebrated its seniors with a 3-0 sweep of Presbyterian in the Millis Center on Saturday afternoon.

“I thought we came out – maybe because it was Senior Night – flat and with a different attitude than what we finished with yesterday,” head coach Tom Mendoza said. “I thought we were flat in the first set and had to work ourselves into the match and that’s something we have to address. With tournament play starting next weekend, you don’t get to work yourself into a match – you have to hit the ground running. But after that, I thought we found our rhythm and played well.”

With a dozen kills in the match, junior Haley Barnes became the 10th player in High Point’s Division I era with 1,000 career kills. Behind Barnes, the Panthers (20-9, 11-5) earned their 20th win for the second straight season – the second time the program has achieved that in Division I play.

“It speaks to her talent and her ability – especially as a six-rotation player,” Mendoza said of Barnes’ achievement. “It’s a long season and she works to put herself in the position to handle the workload and to be there night in and night out for our team.”

In the middle, sophomore Molly Livingston racked up 12 kills while hitting at a .611 clip. The Sun Prairie, Wis. product added four blocks, four digs and three aces in the match. Meanwhile, sophomore Jordan Hefner added seven blocks to her HPU single-season blocking record.

Behind Barnes and Livingston, the Purple & White hit .310 on the afternoon while holding the Blue Hose to a .088 attack percentage.

From the libero spot, senior Megan Kennedy paced the squad with 14 kills as Barnes recorded her 17th double-double with 13 digs. In the match, High Point picked up a 54-41 edge in digs and an 11-3 margin in blocks.

On the right side, redshirt-senior Savannah Angel chipped in with three blocks and three assists while sophomore Katie Tylman tallied seven kills and three blocks.

Rounding out the trio of seniors, Greta Griswold recorded three digs and an assist.

Junior Carly Jimenez and freshman Jenna Smith combined for 34 assists and 13 digs in the victory.

The Panthers and Blue Hose started the afternoon evenly as they split the first 36 points to remain tied at 18-18. However, Livingston got HPU going with three kills down the stretch to lead the squad to a 25-21 victory.

After Livingston racked up six kills in the first set, it was Barnes that heated up in the second frame. The Neenah, Wis. native moved past 1,000 career kills in the frame while leading High Point to a dominant 25-11 win.

Much like the first set, the two teams battled back and fourth throughout the third set as the score was tied 20-20. After PC pulled ahead with a kill, Livingston knotted the score with a kill (21-21).

From there, the teams alternated points until an ace from Livingston set up a match point for HPU (25-24). The Blue Hose survived with a kill before Barnes posted her 12th kill and combined with Hefner on a block to complete the victory (27-25).

The Panthers will move on to the Big South Championship held at Liberty from Friday through Sunday.