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Savannah, Ga.----The second-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs held sixth-seeded Newberry College to a hitting percentage of -.024 Friday afternoon, sweeping the Wolves in the NCAA Southeast Regional semifinals. Wingate won by scores of 25-11, 25-17 and 25-17 to improve to 31-2 overall. The ‘Dogs have now won 22 straight matches, while advancing to the regional finals for the fourth straight year. Newberry ends its season at 19-15 overall.

Redshirt junior right-side hitter Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) had 10 kills and 10 digs to lead the Wingate attack, hitting .318. Freshman outside hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) added nine kills and nine digs, hitting .350. Sophomore outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had nine kills, while sophomore middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) registered six kills and five blocks. Redshirt sophomore setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) had 23 assists and seven digs in two sets of action, while sophomore libero Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) collected 14 digs.

“This was a performance to be proud of for an NCAA semifinal match,” head coach Shelton Collier says. “We came out with great energy and determination from the start and played some high-level volleyball. All 13 active players played key roles in the win, which is rewarding. We feel that we have some good momentum as we head into the regional finals Saturday.”

Amanda Soper led the Newberry attack with six kills. Lauren Prachar and Jessica King added five kills each for the Wolves. Blair Browning handed out 15 assists, while Elayni Stokes collected a match-high 15 digs.

Kills from Murach and Potter gave the Bulldogs an 11-3 lead in the opening set. A Soper kill and Wingate error got the Wolves to within seven, but a Potter block and two Newberry errors made it 16-6. Wingate added a 4-0 run, taking a 23-10 lead on a block from Hilton and sophomore middle blocker Jenna Flanigin (Aldie, Va.). Murach capped the set with a kill. Wingate held the Wolves to six kills in the opening set, while forcing 11 errors, hitting -.135.

A Stumpff kill and Cooke block gave Wingate a 13-5 lead in set two. A pair of Soper blocks trimmed the deficit to three at 13-10. A 4-0 Wingate run pushed the advantage back to seven at 18-11. Hilton started it with back-to-back kills, while senior middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) added a kill. A block and a kill from Potter made it 23-16, while a Murach kill pushed the advantage to 24-17. A Newberry error capped the second set.

Wingate used a 7-0 run to take an 18-10 lead in the third set. Potter and Murach each contributed a kill and a block in the spurt. A kill from Chelsea Mayor, along with two Wingate errors trimmed the lead to 21-15. Hilton answered with a kill, while a Newberry error made it 24-17. Freshman outside hitter Hannah Huffman (Colorado Springs, Colo.) capped the match with a kill. Wingate once again limited Newberry to six kills in the set, holding the Wolves to a hitting percentage of -.031 in the set.

The Bulldogs had 42 kills and 15 errors for the match, hitting .248. Newberry had 21 kills and 24 errors in 110 attack for a -.027 hitting percentage. Potter’s five blocks were a match high, while Murach and Cooke added three each.

The Bulldogs advance to the regional finals for the fourth consecutive year. Wingate has won 10 NCAA Tournament matches all-time. The Bulldogs are now 41-2 all-time against Newberry, winning the last 41 meetings. Wingate will take on the winner of the Armstrong-Tusculum match in the regional finals Saturday at 5 p.m.