Seniors carry HPU volleyball in sweep
Nov. 12—HIGH POINT — High Point University volleyball coach Ryan Meek let his seniors take the spotlight Friday on Senior Night.
Other than sophomore Jenny Wessling getting her usual start at defensive specialist, Meek went with his seniors and graduate students all the way as the Panthers swept Big South foe Gardner-Webb 25-18, 25-20, 25-21 in the Mills Center.
Lucy Dumford and Maggie Salley, a pair of seniors who have seen their roles decrease over the years, led the way with 11 kills each as the offensive output was spread around while starters Sydney Palazzolo and Dylan Maberry never saw the court.
"Our freshman year, our whole class played most of the time," Dumford said. "Since then, it's been a mixture of people. It was fun to get back to us playing. It was a full-circle moment."
Maria Miggins had nine kills, 21 assists and seven digs. Senior outside hitter Megan Kratzer had eight kills and eight digs. Sopheea Mink, another senior outside hitter, had seven kills. Graduate student Ally Van Eekeren passed 16 assists and Wessling led with 13 digs in the next-to-last match of the regular season, which the Panthers end with a home match against UNC Asheville today.
"We played all of our seniors and they played exceptionally," Meek said. "The coolest part was the five seniors had 7, 11, 11, 9 and 8 kills, so they contributed heavily. It was cool to see our team rally around them. The kids that get to play normally were cheering the loudest on the bench. Some teams you would see some pouting, but no one was doing that. It was nice to celebrate them today."
HPU, 20-9 overall, improved to 13-2 and remained in a first-place tie with Campbell. If both teams end tied for first, the Camels will be the No. 1 seed for next week's conference tournament in the Millis Center.
HPU hit at a .316 clip, led by Dunford smashing at a red-hot .714. Mink hit at .333, Kratzer at .300 and Miggins and Salley at .286.
"I don't play a ton all the time," Dumford said. "It was fun to just go out there and play with the rest of the team like we do at practice. It felt good."
Meek had no intention of replacing his seniors as long as they played well. HPU took control of the first set with a 9-2 run that produced a 19-12 lead. In the second set, the Panthers went up 12-9 with three straight points and kept a narrow lead until winning the last two points on a Miggins kill and a Kathryn Wesolich ace.
In the third set, Gardner-Webb led 9-8 before HPU went on a 9-3 run for a 17-12 lead. The Runnin' Bulldogs made a late run of three straight points, the last two on Panther attack errors, and cut the margin to 22-20. Dumford's last kill and a GWU attack error brought match point for the first time. The Runnin' Bulldogs extended the match with a kill but then ended it with a service error.
"We told (the seniors) they were going to start and we were going to ride them as long as they could go, and they went all the way," Meek said. "There was no reason to make a change. If we win tomorrow, we'll have a share of a third straight Big South championship. The two reasons for that are talent and consistency, and our seniors are a big part of that."
