Liberty University
16-11, 11-4BSC
High Point
18-9, 9-5BSC
Lady Flames Dominate in 3-0 Sweep of High Point
11/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
In a battle for second place in the Big South standings, Liberty earned a three-set (25-17, 25-14, 25-21) sweep over the visiting High Point Panthers on Saturday in the Vines Center.
With the win, Liberty (16-11, 11-4 Big South) takes over sole possession of second place in the conference heading into the final week of the regular season. High Point (18-9) now sits in third place with a 9-5 record in Big South play. It was Liberty's third home sweep in a row.
For the second night in a row, Liberty hit .300 or better. The Lady Flames outhit the Panthers, .316-.140. The hosts also led, 8-4 in blocks, 6-1 in aces and 44-38 in digs.
Leah Clayton scored a match-high 16 kills while adding a career-high four aces. Casey Goodwin sent down 11 kills at a .529 pace. Anna Willey dished out 36 assists, while Margaret Latchford collected a team-high nine digs. Anna Gragg posted a match-high five blocks.
Haley Barnes led High Point with nine kills, while three Panthers finished with seven kills each. Jenna Smith totaled 16 assists, while Amy Pilat collected 11 digs.
The Lady Flames led set one, 17-13, following a Goodwin kill. The Panthers later narrowed the gap to 18-16 on a kill by Molly Livingston. Liberty then outscored High Point, 7-1, the rest of the way to take the opening session, 25-17.
Liberty hit .364 during the first set, compared to .081 for High Point. Clayton scored six kills, helping the hosts total 17 kills as a team.
Set two was closely contested early on, with nine ties and five lead changes. The Lady Flames took control with a 7-0 rally that featured a pair of kills each by Goodwin and Clayton. All told, Liberty ended the set on a 13-3 run to win, 25-14.
Liberty outhit High Point, .464-.094, in set two, also posting four blocks and three aces. Clayton and Goodwin scored five kills each.
High Point held a 19-18 set-three lead when Abby Broadstreet scored a kill. Liberty pulled ahead, 20-19, on a Gragg-Gabrielle Vess combo block. After Broadstreet knotted it at 20-all with a kill, four straight Panther errors made it 24-20, Liberty. The Lady Flames cashed in on their second match-point try, winning 25-21 on a Gragg kill.
The Panthers held a .237-.162 advantage in set-three hitting percentage. Broadstreet sent down five kills, while Clayton countered with five kills for Liberty.
The Lady Flames wrap up their regular-season schedule next Saturday at 1 p.m., hosting the Charleston Southern Buccaneers. Due to a facility conflict, next Saturday's match will take place in the Liberty Christian Academy gymnasium.
