Panthers Fall to No. 12 Duke in NCAA Tourney
The High Point University volleyball team fell to No. 12 Duke in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C. Senior Stephanie Wallin had a match-high 14 kills in the 3-0 (25-12, 25-20, 25-20) loss.
It is the first NCAA Tournament appearance for High Point University who beat first-seeded Liberty 3-0 to win the Panthers first-ever Big South Championship.
Wallin had 14 kills and two blocks in her final match while classmate Julie Hershkowitz (Scottsdale, Ariz./Seton Catholic) added 17 digs and a service ace. Freshman setter Maddie Simpson (Simi Valley, Calif./Royal) put up 30 assists along with nine digs, two kills and a block.
Duke jumped on High Point in the first set, taking a 25-12 win in the opening frame. HPU never got an offensive rhythm going, committing 12 attack errors while the Blue Devils made just two attack errors. Wallin led the Panthers with three kills and Hershkowitz had four digs.
The Panthers led for much of the second set, extending the lead to four points six times in the frame but the Blue Devils battled back to a tie match at 20-20. Duke had four kills and a block on Audie Gonzalez (Peoria, Ariz./Peoria) to score the final five points of the set and pull out the 25-20 win. Wallin again led the way with five kills and two blocks in the set but HPU went to the locker room down 2-0.
Senior Anna Lott (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Northeast) came off the bench in the third set to contribute two kills and a block. Her first kill of the match gave HPU a 9-8 lead in the third set. A Duke kill tied the match and the Blue Devils took the lead with a service ace. The Panthers never let Duke extend their lead to more than four until the final point with Duke winning the match 25-20.
Gonzalez finished the match with nine kills, three digs and two blocks. The Panthers finish the season 22-13.