HPU Volleyball Sweeps Radford; Clinches No. 1 Seed

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point University volleyball team defeated Radford 3-0, 25-13, 25-14 and 25-18, Friday, Nov. 2 in the Millis Center. The win clinches the No. 1 seed in the Big South Tournament and at least a share of the Big South Regular Season Championship for HPU for the second consecutive season.

“I thought we played a great game,” head coach Ryan Meek said. “We had to effect the game physically and we did that. I thought our blocking was spot-on. I thought we did a great job on the hitters we were supposed. It was one of those matches where you work on it in practice then it works exactly how you think it is going to. I was really proud of our kids. The defense was great. The passing was great. The blocking was fantastic. That’s what we wanted to see. There were a lot of great touches and the girls were really dialed into what they were doing. It was a complete effort from start to finish. We’ve been looking for a match where we just have it from start to finish and we had that tonight.”

High Point (18-8, 13-1) logged 35 kills on a .310 hitting percentage, while Radford (19-4, 11-3) had 26 kills on a .020 hitting percentage. The teams were nearly even defensively with HPU leading 44-39 in digs and Radford leading 6-5.5 in blocks. Senior Abby Broadstreet led the Panthers in kills at nine, while freshman Madison Smith was tops in hitting percentage at .500 with eight kills of her own. Sophomore Abby Bottomley was the defensive leader with a match-high 14 digs.

“Getting a win on senior night is so special,” Broadstreet said. “Playing in the Millis Center for the last time is awesome. The crowd came out and they were so energetic. It is just so great to be with my best friends and get a W.”

The Panthers jumped out to a 15-8 lead in the first set. They finished the set with a 7-2 run and a score of 25-13.The Panthers out hit the Highlanders .348-.031 in the first set. Five Panthers had two kills in the set, while Bottomley was the leader defensively with five digs in the set.

In the second set, HPU was in control from the beginning with a 12-2 start. High Point won the set 25-14. The Panthers recorded 10 kills on a .273 hitting percentage compared to Radford’s five kills on a -.143 hitting percentage. Broadstreet led the way for the Panthers with three kills, while senior Adeline Ellis logged a 1.000 hitting percentage.

“It was amazing getting a win on senior night,” Ellis said. “It is a little bit bittersweet, but it was awesome seeing all of our fans out in Millis tonight and everyone going ‘Co-go-nuts’ as everyone said.”

HPU led 16-15 in the third set before going on a 6-0 run to take control. High Point finished the set 25-18. Senior Katie Tylman was the offensive leader for the Purple & White with five kills on a .500 hitting percentage. Bottomley logged seven of her 14 digs in the third.

Every senior contributed on senior night with Tylman pitching in six kills, Jordan Hefner recording five kills, Molly Livingston logging four kills, Ellis notching 11 digs and three kills and Rachel Kordonowy registering two digs and a service ace.

Up next, the Panthers will travel to Richmond, Va. to play VCU on Wednesday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m.