HIGH POINT, NC The UNC Greensboro volleyball team dropped a hard fought, 3-2 match to backyard rival High Point on Wednesday evening at the Millis Center.
The Spartans were led by Branagan Fuller. The Murietta, CA native, tallied a team-high 21 kills and a career-high 18 digs for her seventh double-double of the season.
UNCG (4-5) also got contributions big contributions from setter Lisa Fawell who tallied 55 assists and Kaitlyn Nortz tallied a match-high seven blocks.
High Point (5-3) was led by Jamie Kaufman who tallied 17 kills and a match-high 10 service aces. The Panthers had four players with double-digit digs and were led by Julie Hershkowitz who tallied a match-high 34.
In game one the Spartans opened a 2-0 lead early but HPU battled back to take a 9-5 lead before UNCG wnet on a 3-0 run to cut the Panther lead to 9-8. A High Point error tied the game but UNCG used kills from Katherine Hart to take a 10-12 advantage midway through the match.
With the game tied at 18, UNCG used several HPU errors to take a two-point lead and extended it with a timely kill from Catherine Hanners. High Point stopped the UNCG rally with kill from Ashley Mellot and came storming back to cut the UNCG lead to 25-24 but a 5-1 run down the stretch gave UNCG game one, 30-25.
In game two UNCG ran out to a 3-1 lead but the Panthers used a 5-0 run to take a 6-3 lead before a High Point service error gave the Spartans a much needed sideout. UNCG tied the game at six after several HPU mistakes and from that point the score went back-and-forth between the teams. High Point went on a 4-1 run midway through the game to open up a 19-14 lead. UNCG got as close as 27-23 but couldn't slow the High Point momentum and fell, 30-24 in the second game.
The third game featured a tight contest from the outset with neither team taking more than a two-point lead in the opening minutes. UNCG built a three-point lead but HPU cut that to a one point lead with several UNCG miscues.
High Point took an 11-10 lead but kills from Emily Lindborg tied the game at 12. The Panthers built a 26-22 lead but several UNCG kills put the Spartans within four points of the lead. UNCG mounted a comeback and cut the lead to 28-27 but High Point scored the next two points to take the game 30-28.
Despite a close game in the opening minutes the Spartans pulled out to an early 9-6 lead in game four. High Point wouldn't go away and cut the lead to 10-11 and took a 13-11 lead behind a UNCG error and a kill from Mellot.
With the score see-sawing back and forth between the team, UNCG went on a run and tied it at 18 before rattling off three straight points to take a 22-18 lead. UNCG extended it to 20-25 behind points from Hart coupled with several HPU mistakes. Holding a 28-24 lead, UNCG used a kill from Branagan Fuller and a kill from Emily Lindborg to take the game, 30-26 and tied the match at two game each.
In the fifth and decisive game, High Point stormed out to a 4-1 lead but the Spartans got back on track with to cut the lead to 4-3. UNCG took the momentum by scoring the next three points and opening up a 7-5 lead. High Point struck after a timeout and was able to take an 8-7 lead behind kills from Julie Hershkowitz and Jamie Kaufman.
The Spartans kept it close and tied it at 11 but High Point won a long rally to take a one-point lead but UNCG used a kill from Fuller and a High Point attack error to take a 13-12 lead. With the game tied at 15, High Point scored the next two points to take the game 17-15 and the match.
The Spartans are next in action Friday when they head to Charlotte for the 49er Invitational. UNCG will take on Morgan State Friday at 4 pm and will face Coastal Carolina at 10 am on Saturday. The Spartans will conclude tournament action against host, Charlotte Saturday at 7 pm.
UNCG return to Fleming Gymnasium Sept.11 when they take on the Winston-Salem State Rams. First serve is set for 7 pm.
AGATE
High Point def. UNCG 25-30,30-24,30-28,26-30,17-15
UNCG (4-5) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Branagan Fuller 21-3-3; Kaitlyn Nortz, 14-0-7; Emily Lindborg 10-0-3; Katherine Hart 6-0-2; Caley Redden 6-0-1; Kayren Finney 4-0-0; Catherine Hanners 3-3-0; Elizabeth Flattery 1-0-0; Kayleigh Knerr 0-1-0; Lisa Fawell 0-0-1; Totals 65-7-10.0. (Assists) - Lisa Fawell 55. (Dig leaders) - Branagan Fuller 18; Catherine Hanners 17; Lisa Fawell 13; Kayleigh Knerr 11; Caley Redden 8
High Point (5-3) (Kills-aces-blocks) - KAUFMAN, Jamie 17-10-0;MELLOTT, Ashley 16-0-1; JOHNSON, Ashley 12-0-1; GONZALEZ, Audie11-0-0; LOTT, Anna 7-0-1; TAYLOR, Kristina 3-0-0; HERSHKOWITZ, Julie 1-1-0; ROWLEY, Lyndsay 0-2-0; HATCH, Lauren 0-1-0; Totals 67-14-2.0. (Assists) - TAYLOR, Kristina 51. (Dig leaders) - HERSHKOWITZ, Julie 34; GONZALEZ, Audie 18; TAYLOR, Kristina 12; KAUFMAN, Jamie 11; HATCH, Lauren 10
- UNCG -
