High Point, NC – The Eagles traveled to High Point University for a commanding 3-0 victory. Their second win in conference play and their third win in a row. High Point is the defending regular season Big South Champions and the preseason pick to win. This win moves the Eagles to 2-0 in conference and 6-8 overall. The Panthers drop to 2-1 in conference and 5-8 overall.

How It Happened
The Eagles came out swinging in the first set, jumping to a quick lead off kills from Siani Yamaguchi and Jace Kleffner. They held that lead throughout the rest of the set leading by as many as 7 points (16-9). Sydney Gunter had five kills and zero errors while Lily Leistiko added 3 kills and a hitting efficiency of .700.

In the second set, the Eagles and Panthers exchanged points until the Eagles went on a scoring run to push the lead 13-8, their largest lead of the set so far. Hannah Lackey registered an ace and had a pair of key digs to push the lead 15-9. After HPU called their final timeout of the set, the Eagles would respond with an ace serve from Phoebe Wu and cruise to a 25-13 set victory.

The Panthers were not going away easily, they stayed with the Eagles for most of the third set even taking the lead 16-17. The Eagles would respond with a kill from Makayla Doyle and an ace serve from Carlie Skelton to regain the lead 18-17. High Point answered with a kill of their own to tie the set again, but a stingy Winthrop defense would lead to a High Point attack error followed by a High Point rotation error (20-18). After Phoebe Wu dug a hard hit ball she would recover for a kill of her own and two more kills by Kleffner and Gunter sealed the victory (25-21).

Kleffner lead with a team high 10 kills and two block assists, Leistiko added 8 kills and 3 block assists. Wu and Skelton both had double digit digs with 15 and 12 respectively. High Point was led by Molly Livingston (10 kills) and Abby Bottomley (16 digs).

Coaches Corner

"It was a great test for us this week against two very different styles of play," said head coach Chuck Rey. "Both matches challenged us in different ways and for the most part, the team stuck to the game plan. It is still so early in conference play and every team still has things that need to be refined. We certainly are no different and have a tough week ahead of us with three conference matches. What I'm most proud of the team is the continued building of trust among each other and the work ethic in the practice gym. Those players that didn't get a chance to play this week continue to challenge each other and raise the level of play. The results this week can be directly attributed to them."
 
"I do have to give a shout out to our dedicated fans for their unwavering support. It's not easy when you start the year in a way you didn't expect, yet our preseason challenged and prepared us well for conference. 'Super-fans" David Fields and Mary Howell show-up to all our away matches and provide much needed consistent support for the coaches and players, win or lose. It is really appreciated In addition, it's great to have 'advisors' like future Winthrop Hall of Fame Softball Coach Mark Cooke in your corner providing his experience and knowledge from a lifetime of coaching. Personally, I'm glad he retired so he can help me (and I need a lot of help. Although I believe it was the ultimate wisdom of Dr. Trent Kull, Winthrop's Faculty Athletic Advisor, who traveled with us today, that pushed us over the top. Winthrop is incredible with the all the caring and dedicated people that support all our programs."

Up Next
After five weeks of road play, the Eagles are finally home for three matches next week. First up is Radford University on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m., followed by Charleston Southern on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Presbyterian College on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.