No. 3 Campbell Rallies Past No. 2 High Point to Reach Championship Final
ROCK HILL, S.C. — Third-seeded Campbell University volleyball rallied from a 2-0 deficit to come back and claim a 3-2 win over second-seeded High Point in the Big South Championship semifinals on Saturday night, clinching a spot in the title game against top-seeded Winthrop on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Lailah Green led all players with 24 kills, her second match with 20 or more kills this season, while Sarah Colla added 13 kills. Allena Heath recorded eight kills and Melody Paige finished with six kills. Paige also had seven blocks, including one solo block.
BOX SCORE
Madee Miner and Emily Mitter again nearly evenly distributed Campbell's 50 total assists, with Miner recording 24 assists and Mitter dishing out 23 assists. Elyse Gross, who led the defense with 16 digs, also had three assists. Miner paired her assist total with 11 digs, earning her 10th double-double this season.
High Point's Megan Kratzer and Annie Sullivan each had 16 kills, while Mackenzie Thornburg dished out a match-high 28 assists. Abby Bottomley had a team-high 21 digs.
Campbell, which will make its third appearance in the Big South Championship title game on Sunday and its first since 2015, improved to 17-12 overall with the win, while the Panthers dropped to 20-12.
The Fighting Camels trailed 19-16 late in set one but pulled to within one twice at 23-22 and 24-23, both of which came on kills by Green. However, High Point's Megan Kratzer sealed the 1-0 lead with her seventh kill of the set. Both teams committed just five errors in the first set, with Campbell hitting .464 and High Point posting a .548 attacking percentage.
Campbell took an early 4-3 advantage in the second set on a Mitter service ace, eventually leading by as many as four, 11-7. After Campbell went ahead 18-16, High Point took a timeout, and out of the break, the Panthers closed the set on a 9-3 run, winning 25-21.
In the third set, after Green put down back-to-back kills to put Campbell ahead by six, 22-16, High Point came back to within four, 23-19. Campbell took a timeout, and out of the break, Green collected two more kills, including match point, to win set three, 25-20.
In set four, High Point took a timeout when facing a four-point deficit, 21-17; out of the timeout, the Panthers pulled to within two, 21-19. However, Green's 20th kill of the match sparked a 4-0 run, sending the fourth set in favor of the Camels, 25-19.
Campbell trailed 10-7 in the fifth set, but another kill by Green sparked a 6-0 run, pushing the Camels ahead by three, 13-10. High Point responded with a 3-0 run to tie the score at 13 apiece, forcing CU to call a timeout, but an HPU service error and yet another Green kill secured the Fighting Camel victory, 15-13.
The Fighting Camels are set to make their first Big South Championship final appearance since 2015 on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 4 p.m. against top-seeded Winthrop. The game will be aired on ESPN3.