ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? Stephanie Wallin and Ashley Mellot combined for 31 kills as High Point outlasted UNC Asheville in five sets Friday night at Justice Center in the Big South Conference opener for both teams. The Panthers won the match, 22-25, 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 15-10.
The Bulldogs (8-6, 0-1 BSC) were led by a game-high 19 kills and four blocks from Lauren Ficker. Freshman Cindi Miller added 10 kills and seven digs. Raquel Miotti led the defense with 17 digs.
The key set of the match was the third one. High Point (10-4, 1-0 BSC) led for most of the set until Asheville roared back behind Ficker to grab a 23-22 lead. However, the Panthers got kills from Mellot and Lindsay Raus to go back up 24-23 and got the final point on a Bulldog error to go up 2-1.
Asheville roared back in the fourth game. The home team trailed 18-16 but went on a 9-3 run to end the set and tie the match at 2-2.
In the fifth game, the Bulldogs picked up the first two points to lead 2-0. However, High Point scored the next eight points to take a commanding 8-2 lead. The Bulldogs crept to 14-10 behind kills from Ficker and Miller. However, Wallin ended the match with a kill to give the Panthers their ninth victory in the last 10 matches.
UNC Asheville travels to Winthrop next Saturday (Oct. 4) afternoon at 2 p.m., while High Point plays at Presbyterian tomorrow.
