BOX SCORE RADFORD, Va. – The Radford volleyball team fell, 3-1, in the regular season finale against High Point on Friday night. Shelby Hernandez, Raella Papes and Emma Young were honored in a pregame Senior Day ceremony as well.
 
With the loss, the Highlanders' 2023 season comes to a close with a final record of 6-17 overall and 5-9 in Big South play. High Point, meanwhile, clinched a perfect 14-0 season in conference play to win the regular season title.
 
The Highlanders forced the Panthers to drop just their second set across 14 Big South Conference matches this season, taking the very first frame by a score of 25-19. Sophie Paspal picked up where she left off against Charleston Southern, crushing five kills on seven attack attempts while HPU committed six attack errors and four service errors.
 
High Point proceeded to flip the script in the second and third sets, posting a combined 32 kills and three attack errors. Hitting percentages of .368 and .682 in each of those sets propelled the Panthers to 25-15 and 25-16 wins, giving them a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Trying to extend the season and force a fifth set, the Highlanders were tougher to beat in the fourth set. A pair of Radford blocks and six HPU attack errors gave the home team a shot, but the Big South regular season champs were too much to handle as the match came to a close.
 
Paspal finished her year with a big 13-kill game, leading the team with a .370 hitting percentage. The Panthers were paced by Dylan Maberry, who recorded 19 kills.
 
NOTABLES

• Senior Emma Young suffered an ankle injury that kept her out of the final six matches of the season. As a way to honor her career, Radford and High Point teamed up to give her the "honorary first serve" in the match, allowing her to play just one more time in a Highlander uniform
• Julia Slivka (14 assists) and Rylee Sloss (10 assists) split time at setter
• Olivia Flanagan and Sierra Moore had three and two service aces, respectively
• Shelby Hernandez ended her historic career with 19 digs

UP NEXT
That's a wrap on the 2023 season! Stay tuned for news and updates on the Radford volleyball program.
 
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