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seniors
3
Winner High Point HPU 23-6, 16-0 Big South
1
Radford RAD 23-4, 13-3 Big South
Winner
High Point HPU
23-6, 16-0 Big South
3
Final
1
Radford RAD
23-4, 13-3 Big South
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
High Point HPU 20 25 25 25 (3)
Radford RAD 25 21 18 12 (1)

Game Recap: Volleyball |

RADFORD FALLS TO HIGH POINT IN REGULAR SEASON FINALE



RADFORD, Va. – The winning streak for the Highlanders came to an end on Saturday night as Radford fell in a tough four-set match (25-20, 25-21, 18-25, 12-25) to league-leader High Point inside the Dedmon Center.
 
The first set saw seven ties and two lead changes, but with the set tied at 10, Radford (23-4, 13-3 Big South) took a commanding 18-10 lead thanks to an 8-0 run with Kaylor Nash holding serve. During the 8-0 run, the Highlanders had five kills – four of them coming from Stephanie Neast. High Point (23-6, 16-0 Big South) came back and cut it to as low as four, 23-19, but the Highlanders scored two of the last three points of the set. Neast had the exclamation point with her sixth kill of the set to put Radford ahead 25-20 with a 1-0 set lead.
 
The second set was back-and-forth as neither team could pull away. However, with the set tied at 13 the Panthers scored three straight to take a 16-13 lead. The Highlanders could never regain the lead but cut the deficit to one on two separate occasions. With a 17-16 lead, High Point closed out the set on an 8-5 run clinching it, 25-21. The Panthers tallied 14 kills in the set alone.
 
Maddie Palmer began the third set with a kill that led to a 4-3 Highlander lead early, but a 6-0 run with Molly Livingston holding serve for HPU gave an advantage to the visiting team. High Point kept increasing the lead and at one point led 20-11. Radford bounced back with a quick 5-2 run cutting the lead to six, 22-16. HPU took a 2-1 set advantage scoring three of the last five points.
 
Radford pulled away early in the final set, 6-3, but fell behind 9-8 in large part to a 6-2 HPU run. High Point eventually went ahead by four, 13-9 and kept their foot on the gas pedal racing to a 22-11 lead. Two Panther kills and a Haley Barnes service ace completed HPU's unbeaten Big South run.
 
Prior to the first set, the Panthers only lost three sets in Big South play. The Highlanders join Winthrop, Charleston Southern and Liberty as one of the four to take a set from the regular season champions.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
•  Radford was led by Stephanie Neast as she tallied 12 kills and hit a team-high .242 with three digs.
•  Haley Kleespies picked up another double-double as she led all players with 24 assists and added 11 digs.
•  Kleespies now has 1,001 assists this season. The junior has surpassed 1,000 kills in each year as a Highlander.
•  Maddie Palmer was one kill shy of picking up another double-double. She had nine kills with a team-high 15 digs.
•  Amaya Rousseau led the Highlanders with five block assists as Radford totaled eight as a team.
•  Nine different Highlanders picked up at least one dig in Saturday's match.
•  Both teams had seven service aces as Haley Barnes led all players with four and Kleespies led Radford with three. Jordan Coomes tacked on two for the Highlanders as well.
•  High Point recorded a .306 hitting percentage and held Radford to a .137 hitting percentage.

UP NEXT
The Highlanders finished second in the conference and will face the winner of the No. 3 and No 6 seed on Saturday at 7 p.m., in the semifinals of the Big South Volleyball Tournament. Stay tuned for more details about the tournament, which will be hosted inside the Dedmon Center.

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