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ROCK HILL, SC – The Winthrop volleyball team dropped a 3-0 conference contest Friday evening to the High Point Panthers inside the Winthrop Coliseum.

Winthrop fell to 14-8 overall and 4-2 in conference with the loss while High Point improved to 8-11 overall and 2-4 in the Big South.

Winthrop struggled to get going offensively in the first set, hitting only .061.  The sides were even through the first 20 points at 10-10 before the Panthers went on an 8-1 run to take an 18-11 lead.  Winthrop was able to get back within four at 22-18, but after a High Point timeout the Panthers finished off the set 25-20.

High Point dominated the second set, turning a 2-2 tie into a 12-5 advantage, forcing Winthrop to take a timeout.  The break didn't help the Eagles as the Panthers cruised to a 25-15 victory.

The Eagles came out much stronger in the third set, leading by as much as four at 12-8.  The lead was short-lived as the Panthers came back on a 13-4 run to take a 21-16 advantage, forcing Winthrop to take a timeout.  The Eagles responded with four straight points to get within one at 21-20.  High Point reached set point at 24-20 after a 3-0 run and the Eagles were able to fight off three before an attack error by Winthrop gave High Point the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.

Senior Alina Sopizhuk led the Eagles with 10 kills while sophomore Brianna Gray added eight kills.  Senior Jessie Vicic finished with 17 assists and sophomore Maria Volstad led the team with 16 digs.

The Eagles hit only .057 for the match with 36 kills and 33 assists.  Winthrop finished with 41 digs and nine total blocks.

The Eagles will finish up their six-match home stand on Saturday at 2 p.m. against the Camels of Campbell University.