Eagles volleyball team rallies to beat High Point

From staff reports

The Winthrop's volleyball team came back from two sets down to win an exciting five-set match against the High Point Panthers (21-25, 14-25, 25-21, 25-22 and 15-12) on Friday at the Winthrop Coliseum.

The Eagles (16-7, 8-2 Big South) compiled 60 kills, 79 digs and 14 block assists.

Kelley Taylor led the offense with 15 kills and a .393 hitting performance. Kristin Cruse was the defensive top contributor with 23 digs.

“We learned how to fight tonight,” coach Sally Polhamus said. “We executed in critical times. We've been talking a lot about establishing our tempo from the service line and passing. But tonight our defense pushed us to the win.”

In the first game, Winthrop started slow, letting High Point open the 6-1 advantage. The Panthers kept strong, opening the 14-7 lead, when the Eagles asked for a timeout. Winthrop tried to recover, but the Panthers continued with strong attacks, winning 25-21 in the first set.

The Eagles started the second set better, but High Point kept the lead most of the time.

“During the break, we talked about establishing our block and the defense behind it,” Polhamus said.

The strategy worked as the Eagles came back from the 10-minute break to win the match in the fifth set.

The Eagles will be back in action at 2 p.m. today as they face the Liberty Flames at the Winthrop Coliseum.

WOMEN'S SOCCER — The Winthrop women's soccer team picked up its first Big South Conference victory of the season with a 2-1 win over the UNC Asheville at Eagle Field.

The Lady Eagles improve their overall record to 4-9-2 and 1-4-1 in the conference, while the Bulldogs fall to 4-8-1 on the season and 1-5 in conference play.

“I am excited that we got a win and excited that we got a lot of players in the game,” said coach Melissa Heinz. “The work ethic was strong and high tonight. It wasn't a pretty game, but we found a way to win tonight. I'm proud of my players for that.”

Winthrop came out early and missed three scoring opportunities in three straight minutes. Ariel Kunde had a one-on-one chance in the 12th minute after receiving a through pass from Jessica Hausfeld, but UNC Asheville goalkeeper Veronica Lazar made a sliding stop before Kunde could take the shot. Kunde had another chance in the 13th minute, but her shot was blocked by Lazar. Hausfeld followed that up in the 14th minute with a shot from 10-yards out that hit the top crossbar and was cleared by a Bulldog defender. Hausfeld took the shot after Lazar mishandled a crossing pass.

Winthrop will return to action on Sunday, Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. as it hosts the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Senior Day.