LYNCHBURG, Va. – On Sunday afternoon, High Point University volleyball battled against Liberty University in the second game of the Liberty Mountain Madness. HPU rolled through the match and won 3-1 against the Flames.
Élodie Lalonde led the Panthers with 16 kills with six digs and two blocks. Maya Bukovcan and Addison Freeland combined for 17 kills in the middle and 11 block assists. Remy Catojo and Aisha Keric also helped carry the block, adding nine assists. Gabby Hill had a solid game as well with eight kills.
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"Great match for us," Head Coach Ryan Meek stated. "I thought we started a little scattered mentally, but once we figured it out and got on the same page I thought we were great. Liberty is a good team and we were in control for the last two sets. We need focus and effort like we had in sets three and four if we want to reach our goals this season."
Site: Liberty Arena
Score: High Point 3, Liberty 1
Record: High Point (3-2), Liberty (3-3)
Out the gate, High Point held a steady lead over the Flames. Catojo played strong on the front row setting up her teammates on the attack while also dumping over a handful of kills of her own. After back-to-back hits from Catojo, HPU led 6-4 early. The Panthers maintained the lead with the help of two kills from Keric and a service ace from Havani Embry to lead 10-8.
Along with the attack, HPU was crushing the block. Freeland and Keric assisted on a block for the 17th point to lead 17-15. Keric later assisted on a block with Bukovcan to make it 19-16 to continue High Point's steady advantage.
Set two started with back-and-forth action. Liberty took its first lead of the match in set two at 3-2, but each time HPU fell behind by a point or two, the team answered early and strung together multiple points to take back the lead. A big block from Freeland and Catojo gave HPU a 13-11 lead, but after taking the lead, Liberty set out on a run leading to a 19-14 advantage over the Panthers. High Point was unable to break the Flames' momentum and dropped set two 25-18.
High Point punched first in set three. Keric drove down a kill to help give HPU a 3-1 lead. The Panthers extended on an 8-1 run midway through the set led by Freeland, who exploded with four kills herself. High Point led 18-9 and kept the pressure on to take set three 25-18.
The momentum carried over into set four as HPU dominated its way to an 8-2 lead. Bukovcan was serving up points as she contributed three straight points with a kill and two service aces.
Back-to-back blocks from the Panthers extended the lead to 19-12 as Gabby Hill picked up a solo block and Keric and Freeland picked up a block assist. High Point continued to gain separation from Liberty as Lalonde secured the final match point with a kill to win set four 25-16.
Up next: High Point travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a tournament at Penn State. The Panthers will play Wright State on Friday, September 11, at 4 p.m.
