GREENSBORO, NC UNC Greensboro was swept by High Point 3-0 on Tuesday night at Fleming Gymnasium. Set scores were 25-20, 25-16, 25-22.
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Branagan Fuller had a team-high 10 kills in the 3-0 loss
to High Point on Tuesday night.
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In the first set, UNCG had to contend with a High Point offense that put together four different three-point runs. The Panthers eventually used those runs to take a 18-11 lead. High Point's lead increased to eight before the Spartans rattled off six of the next seven points. UNCG got kills from junior Catherine Hanners and freshman Luciana Shafer and scored points off four High Point errors to make it 21-18 in favor of the Panthers. A kill by Anna Lott began another three-point High Point run that led to a 24-18 Panther advantage. UNCG hung on, scoring points off a High Point attack error and a Hanners ace, but Stephanie Wallin had the set-winning kill for the Panthers.
High Point scored eight-straight points early in the second set to take a 9-3 lead. UNCG pulled to within four, but the Panthers had used three- and four-point runs to take a 16-6 advantage. The Spartans eventually cut High Point's lead down to seven off a kill by sophomore Kayren Finney to make it a 23-16 set. However, back-to-back UNCG attack errors allowed the Panthers to get the final points they needed for to win the set.
UNCG scored six of the first seven points in the third set. A service ace by Hanners and a solo block by Finney gave the Spartans a 2-0 advantage. High Point scored off a service error, but Finney and junior Branagan Fuller blocked an attack from Wallin to spark a four-point run and make it 6-1 in favor of UNCG. However, three-straight points by the Panthers trimmed UNCG's edge down to two. High Point made it a one-point set on three different occasions before freshman Luciana Shafer had a kill that started a three-point run. During that run, sophomore Kimiko Naito served an ace put UNCG up 12-8. After the teams traded points, an Audie Gonzalez kill sparked a three-point Panther run that eventually cut UNCG's lead down to one. The Spartans answered as a kill by sophomore Billi Baker and back-to-back Fuller kills gave them a 16-12 edge. However, High Point scored the next five points, including the go-ahead, to take a 17-16 advantage. UNCG regained the lead after back-to-back Panther errors, but High Point reeled off four-consecutive points to hold a 21-18 lead. The Spartans evened the set at 21-all after kills from Fuller and Hanners and a Panther attack error. A kill by Ashley Mellot gave High Point the one-point lead, but a Mellot attack error tied the set at 22-22. However, High Point scored the final three points of the match off kills from Kristina Taylor and Wallin and a Spartan error.
Fuller recorded a team-high 10 kills. Naito had 11 assists, while Hanners totaled 11 digs.
Gonzalez tallied a match-high 11 kills, while Taylor put up 29 assists. Julie Hershkowitz recorded 14 digs.
The Spartans return to the court this weekend when they travel to Morgantown, WV for the WVU Classic. UNCG opens the tournament against host West Virginia on Friday, Sept. 19 at 7:30 p.m., and then concludes the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 20 against George Washington and UMBC.
AGATE
High Point defeated UNCG 25-20,25-16,25-22
High Point (7-2) (Kills-aces-blocks) - GONZALEZ, Audie 11-0-2; RAUS, Lindsay 7-0-3; LOTT, Anna 6-0-1; MELLOTT, Ashley 6-0-0; WALLIN, Stephanie 6-0-2; TAYLOR, Kristina 3-1-1; HATCH, Lauren 0-1-0; Totals 39-2-5.0. (Assists) - TAYLOR, Kristina 29. (Dig leaders) - HERSHKOWITZ, Julie 14; DYER, Tara 10; HATCH, Lauren 9; TAYLOR, Kristina 8; GONZALEZ, Audie 8
UNCG (6-4) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Branagan Fuller 10-0-1; Kayren Finney 7-0-3; Kaitlyn Nortz 5-0-0; Luciana Shafer 5-0-0; Billi Baker 2-0-1; Catherine Hanners 2-2-0; Kimiko Naito 0-1-0; Kayleigh Knerr 0-1-0; Totals 31-4-3.0. (Assists) - Kimiko Naito 11. (Dig leaders) - Catherine Hanners 11; Branagan Fuller 9; Kayleigh Knerr 8
- UNCG -
