# High Point Panthers women's volleyball

The High Point Panthers women's volleyball team is an NCAA Division I volleyball team representing High Point University as part of the Big South Conference. They play their home games at Millis Athletic Convocation Center in High Point, North Carolina.

## History

High Point University created a volleyball team in 1973, with the Panthers joining the present-day Conference Carolinas, where they played until the 1997 academic year. The Panthers competed only in the NAIA until 1992, had dual membership with the NAIA and Division II in 1993–1994, and moved up to exclusively Division II in 1995. The program had a spate of successful seasons from 1975 to 1980, winning six straight conference titles and peaking with 42 wins in back-to-back years in 1977–1978. However, the NAIA did not begin sponsoring women's volleyball championships until 1980, and the AIAW did not invite them to its volleyball championship. High Point made the NAIA tournament four times: 1982, 1983, 1986, and 1988. The NAIA volleyball championship has a round-robin format, and the Panthers went 2–12 in their four appearances in the 1980s. In Division II, the Panthers won back-to-back conference championships in the Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference in 1995–1996. However, this did not result in any NCAA tournament appearances, as the league was a fledgling member of Division II.
The High Point Panthers moved up to Division I and joined the Big South Conference in 1999, and the volleyball team encountered struggles in its first few seasons, losing 27+ games each year from 1999 to 2003. However, head coach Chad Esposito was able to build the program up to 24 wins in 2007 and 26 wins in 2008, winning the team's only shared regular-season championship to date in 2008. The Panthers fell 3–2 to Coastal Carolina in the Big South tournament semifinals that year.
The Panthers were coached by Jason Oliver from 2009 to 2015, and his tenure was highlighted by a conference tournament championship in 2010, where they swept top-seeded Liberty in the final. The Panthers drew No. 12 Duke in the first round, and lost 25–12, 25–20, 25–20.
Current head coach Tom Mendoza was hired in 2016, bringing a history of success with him. Mendoza had previously coached at Creighton, leading the Blue Jays to a 142–57 record in six seasons from 2010 to 2015, five NCAA Tournament bids, and a Sweet 16 appearance in 2015. In his first season at High Point, Mendoza guided the Panthers to a 23–10 record and the program's second Big South conference tournament title, a 3–1 triumph against top-seeded Radford. The Panthers faced No. 7 North Carolina in the NCAA tournament, falling 25–13, 25–12, 25–23. 2017 was the team's most successful in the Division I era in terms of RPI, as the team reached as high as 44 by the end of the season. After a 5–6 start to the season, including four losses to top-50 RPI teams, the Panthers won 19 straight matches, becoming the first team in Big South history to go 16–0 in conference, while only conceding 4 sets in conference play. The Panthers handed their rivals Radford two of the Highlanders' four losses in the regular season, but in the conference tournament championship, held at Radford, the Highlanders avenged the regular season losses and the previous championship in a 3–1 victory. However, the Panthers were surprisingly picked as an at-large bid for the NCAA Tournament due to their final RPI of 39. They traveled to Salt Lake City to take on Purdue. The Panthers won the first set 25-21 before dropping the next three to finish the season 24–8.

## Individual awards

Big South Rookie of the Year
* Tracyann Pryce - 1999
* Lindsey Pickens - 2003
* Savannah Angel - 2013
* Molly Livingston - 2015
* Abby Bottomley - 2017
Big South Coach of the Year
* Chad Esposito - 2008
* Tom Mendoza - 2017
Big South Tournament MVP
* Audie Gonzalez - 2010
* Haley Barnes - 2016
Big South Scholar-Athlete of the Year
* Molly Barlow - 2012
* Gabi Mirand - 2015
* Haley Barnes - 2017

## Individual career records (Division I era)

| Record | Number | Player | Years |
| Kills | 1597 | Jamie Kaufman | 2004-07 |
| Attack % | .289 | Stephanie Wallin | 2007-10 |
| Assists | 3982 | Kristina Taylor | 2005-08 |
| Aces | 220 | Jamie Kaufman | 2004-07 |
| Digs | 2416 | Julie Hershkowitz | 2007-10 |
| Total Blocks | 340 | Tracyann Pryce | 1999-02 |
| Sets Played | 488 | Julie Hershkowitz | 2007-10 |

## Individual single-season records (Division I era)

| Record | Number | Player | Years |
| Kills | 523 | Megan Smith | 2010 |
| Attack % | .384 | Molly Livingston | 2017 |
| Assists | 1439 | Kristina Taylor | 2007 |
| Aces | 67 | Jamie Kaufman | 2005 |
| Digs | 688 | Julie Hershkowitz | 2010 |
| Total Blocks | 143 | Jordan Hefner | 2016 |

## Seasons

Statistics overview :
| Season | Coach | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| AIAW Small College Division Independent (1973–1974) ||||||
| 1973 | Jennifer Alley | 3-10 | | | |
| 1974 | Jennifer Alley | 8-13 | | | |
| AIAW Small College Division Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (1975–1979) ||||||
| 1975 | Jennifer Alley | 25-12 | | | |
| 1976 | Jennifer Alley | 32-9 | | | |
| 1977 | Wanda Briley | 42-10 | | | |
| 1978 | Wanda Briley | 42-7 | | | |
| 1979 | Nancy Little | 23-15 | | | |
| NAIA Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1980–1992) ||||||
| 1980 | Nancy Little | 21-18 | | | |
| 1981 | Nancy Little | 16-19 | | | |
| 1982 | Nancy Little | 25-13 | | | NAIA Pool B (1-2 record) |
| 1983 | Nancy Little | 23-8 | | | NAIA Pool C (1-2 record) |
| 1984 | Nancy Little | 19-9 | | | |
| 1985 | Debbie Trogden | 28-4 | | | |
| 1986 | Debbie Trogden | 38-9 | | | NAIA Pool C (0-4 record) |
| 1987 | Debbie Trogden | 23-10 | | | |
| 1988 | Joe Ellenburg | 19-10 | | | NAIA Pool C (0-4 record) |
| 1989 | Joe Ellenburg | 21-10 | | | |
| 1990 | Joe Ellenburg | 19-8 | | | |
| 1991 | Joe Ellenburg | 18-14 | | | |
| 1992 | Joe Ellenburg | 18-15 | | | |
| Dual membership: NCAA DII and NAIA Carolinas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (1993–1994) ||||||
| 1993 | Joe Ellenburg | 18-14 | | | |
| 1994 | Joe Ellenburg/Teresa Faucette | 16-23 | | | |
| NCAA DII Carolinas-Virginia Athletics Conference (1995–1996) ||||||
| 1995 | Joe Ellenburg/Teresa Faucette | 20-9 | 9-0 | 1st | |
| 1996 | Teresa Faucette | 26-9 | 9-0 | 1st | |
| NCAA DII Independent (1997–1998) ||||||
| 1997 | Teresa Faucette | 11-20 | | | |
| 1998 | Jennifer Guzi | 8-26 | | | |
| NCAA Division I Big South Conference (1999–Present) ||||||
| 1999 | Georgette Crawford | 2-27 | 1-13 | T-7th | |
| 2000 | Georgette Crawford | 3-29 | 2-12 | 7th | |
| 2001 | Georgette Crawford | 7-27 | 3-11 | 7th | |
| 2002 | Georgette Crawford | 7-27 | 2-12 | 8th | |
| 2003 | Chad Esposito | 8-28 | 1-13 | 8th | |
| 2004 | Chad Esposito | 17-18 | 5-9 | 6th | |
| 2005 | Chad Esposito | 16-17 | 5-9 | T-5th | |
| 2006 | Chad Esposito | 10-22 | 6-8 | 5th | |
| 2007 | Chad Esposito | 24-9 | 8-4 | 3rd | |
| 2008 | Chad Esposito | 26-7 | 13-3 | T-1st | |
| 2009 | Jason Oliver | 17-17 | 6-10 | 6th | |
| 2010 | Jason Oliver | 22-13 | 13-3 | 2nd | NCAA First Round |
| 2011 | Jason Oliver | 9-21 | 6-8 | 7th | |
| 2012 | Jason Oliver | 20-11 | 9-5 | 3rd | |
| 2013 | Jason Oliver | 16-15 | 9-5 | 3rd | |
| 2014 | Jason Oliver | 13-16 | 6-8 | 6th | |
| 2015 | Jason Oliver | 21-10 | 11-3 | 2nd | |
| 2016 | Tom Mendoza | 23-10 | 11-5 | 3rd | NCAA First Round |
| 2017 | Tom Mendoza | 24-8 | 16-0 | 1st | NCAA First Round |
| Total: | Total: | 838–637 (.568) | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||

## Postseason Results

The Panthers have appeared in 3 NCAA tournaments and 4 NAIA tournaments. Their all-time record is 2–15.

### NAIA tournament results

| Year | Round | Opponents | Result |
| 1982 | Pool C | Kearney (Neb.) Winthrop Fort Hays St. | L 15–9, 15-3 L 16–14, 15-8 W 15–12, 7–15, 15-9 |
| 1983 | Pool C | Southwestern (Tx.) Franklin (Ind.) Montana Tech | L 16–14, 15-12 L 15–12, 15-3 W 15–0, 17-15 |
| 1986 | Pool C | Texas Wesleyan UW-Milwaukee Biola Missouri Western | L 15–8, 15-5 L 15–7, 15-11 L 15–7, 15-4 L 16–14, 15-9 |
| 1988 | Pool C | Western Oregon Ouachita Baptist Southwestern (Tx.) Fort Lewis | L 15–6, 15-3 L 15–9, 9–15, 15-10 L 15–11, 15-2 L 14–16, 15–13, 17-15 |

### NCAA tournament results

| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 2010 | First round | Duke | L 12–25, 20–25, 20–25 |
| 2016 | First round | North Carolina | L 13–25, 12–25, 23–25 |
| 2017 | First round | Purdue | L 25–21, 14–25, 22–25, 12–25 |