WILMINGTON, North
Carolina - Junior Christi Laite and sophomore Morgan Kline posted 12 and 10
kills, respectively, to lead UNCW to a 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-16) victory over
High Point in collegiate volleyball action in the Courtyard Wilmington Beach
Bash Friday at Hanover Hall. The contest served as the season opener for both programs.
Both teams return to action Saturday at the Courtyard
Wilmington Beach Bash. High Point faces LIU Brooklyn at 10:30 a.m. before UNCW
takes on Delaware State at 1 p.m. High Point and Delaware State return to the
court at 5 p.m. while UNCW and LIU Brooklyn close out the tournament with a
7:30 p.m. contest.
Laite and Kline highlighted a UNCW lineup that combined for
a .286 hitting percentage for the match. Senior setter Natalie LaHaie dished
out a match-high 33 assists to quarterback a balanced Seahawks attack that saw
five players record more four kills or more. Senior Jennifer Mallard pitched in
seven spikes while sophomore McKenzie Keightley notched six kills on nine
attempts for a .667 attack clip.
Defensively, Mallard posted a game-high 12 digs while Laite
added 10 to finish with a double-double. Freshman libero Lindsay Hartmann
tallied nine digs in her collegiate debut.
Senior Courtney Johnk posted 12 kills and sophomore Chelsea
Davis added eight for High Point, who was limited to a .131 hitting percentage
for the contest, including a (-.029) clip in the second frame. Sophomore Maddie
Simpson dished out 26 assists and added nine digs while Davis posted a
team-high 10 bumps for the Panthers.
In an opening set that featured a total of nine ties and
three lead changes, UNCW took advantage of a 5-2 spurt late in the frame to
break open an 18-all tie and take a 24-20 lead. High Point responded with three
straight points to pull within one, 24-23, but a kill by Laite, one of seven
for the Severna Park, Md., product in the first set, gave the Seahawks a 25-23
victory.
Game two saw UNCW use a 15-3 run to erase a 4-0 deficit and
build a commanding 15-7 cushion midway through the frame as it cruised to a
25-17 victory.
The Seahawks maintained their momentum in the third set as
they never trailed in the decisive frame. UNCW opened up a quick 7-3 advantage
before using a 9-4 run later in the frame to take its largest lead of the set,
23-14. The two sides then traded points before a Panthers attack error gave the
Seahawks a 25-16 victory and the match.
