HIGH POINT, N.C. – Winthrop volleyball lost to High Point for the third time this season in the semifinals of the Big South Conference Tournament by a final score of 3-1 (19-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-25) Saturday afternoon at the Millis Athletic Center on the campus of High Point University.
Winthrop (16-12, 12-4 Big South) | High Point (22-9, 14-2 Big South)
Nov. 19, 2022 | Millis Athletic Center
Winthrop 1, High Point 3 (19-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-25)
How it Happened
Set 1 | The Eagles started the match down 4-3 with half of the points being kills by
Alayna Jansky. Winthrop scored five of the next eight points to take an 8-7 lead via three
Brookelynn Thomas kills. HPU then scored three of the next four to take a 10-9 lead only for the Eagles to outscore the Panthers 4-1 for a 13-11 lead capped off by a Panther error. High Point went on a 5-0 run for a 16-13 before an error stopped the run. After the Panthers restored their three-point edge at 17-14, two straight kills by
Karli Shepherd cut it to one. High Point then went on a huge run to end the first set, outscoring the Eagles 8-3 to take the first set 25-19 and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Set 2 | The second set was a back-and-forth contest early, with the Eagles taking an 8-4 lead via three Shepherd kills. The Panthers went on a 6-0 run for a 10-8 lead only to see Winthrop score eleven of the next eighteen points to take a 19-17 lead. During the run Jansky led with two kills and the Panthers committed seven errors. The run was capped off by a Thomas kill. High Point then exploded again with an 8-1 run to win the second 25-20 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Set 3 | Winthrop started the third set down 5-0 before rallying for an 11-8 lead courtesy of four Thomas kills and an ace, two Jansky kills and two Panther errors. The teams then alternated for the next nine points, with Winthrop taking a 15-13 lead thanks to two Jansky kills. Winthrop then went on a 7-3 run to take a 22-16 lead. During the run, Jansky led the way, registering a kill and an ace. High Point rallied with five straight to cut it to 22-21 but the Eagles finished the set strong, scoring three of the final four points to win the set and cut High Point's lead in the match to 2-1. Jansky got two kills during the closing run.
Set 4 | The fourth set started out at 4-4 thanks to two Jansky kills. High Point went on an 8-1 run for a 12-5 lead. The Eagles fought back with three straight points to make it 12-8. But the Panthers countered with seven of the next eight points to take a 19-9 lead. The Eagles gave it one last shot by outscoring High Point 5-2 on three Jansky kills to cut it 21-14. High Point then ended the set, the match and Winthrop's season by finishing with a 4-1 run to win 25-15.
Statistical Leaders
Alayna Jansky (20 kills, 18 digs, 2 blocks)
Alicia Roberts (9 kills, 4 blocks)
Isabella Murray (1 ace, 41 assists)
Notables
- The Eagles lead the all-time series 39-25 but have dropped the last six meetings to High Point
- The Eagles have played 1,775 matches all-time as the program holds a mark of 1,058-716
- Jansky had her 23nd match with 10 or more kills on the season
- Thomas finishes with 27 service aces on the year, a career-high for a single-season
- Winthrop recorded more blocks in the match, 7-1
UP NEXT
The Eagles season concludes with a record of 16-12 and 7-4 in the Big South. Winthrop looks ahead to 2023.
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