Box Score  

Newberry, S.C.----The top-seeded and ninth-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs swept the fifth-seeded Queens University Royals Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the Food Lion SAC volleyball tournament. Wingate won by scores of 25-11, 25-19 and 25-21 to improve to 28-2 overall, advancing to the SAC championship match for the ninth straight year. The 'Dogs have now won 23 consecutive SAC Tournament matches and 25 straight contests this season. Queens falls to 17-11 overall. 

The victory gives Wingate head coach Shelton Collier 900 career wins. The seven-time SAC Coach of the Year is 333-60 during his 12 years at Wingate. Collier had 296 victories at Pittsburgh, while registering 271 wins at Georgia Tech. He is 900-267 in his career, good for a .771 winning percentage.

Two-time SAC Player of the Year Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) had 14 kills, 13 digs and four blocks to lead the Wingate attack, hitting .414. Sophomore outside hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) added seven kills, seven digs and four aces, while juniors Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) and Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) contributed six kills each. Redshirt junior setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) had 26 assists, eight digs and three kills, while junior libero Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) had 15 digs.

"We picked a great day to play one of our best and most complete matches of the season," Collier says. "Queens was playing some of the best volleyball of any team in the league, so we expected a very tough match. We played really well in every aspect of our game and that was reflected in the final score. We are very proud of our performance in such an important match."

Brittney Barren had nine kills to lead the Queens attack. Anna Gibbs added eight kills, while Kerri Kemp had five kills and eight digs for the Royals. Taylor Riley handed out 22 assists, while Alexa Sparrell collected 13 digs.

The Bulldogs used a 7-0 run to take an 11-4 advantage in the opening frame. Hilton capped the flurry with back-to-back kills. Two Potter kills, along with a pair of Murach kills pushed the lead to 12 at 19-7. A pair of Queens errors, along with a kill from freshman Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) gave the 'Dogs a 23-9 advantage. Wingate took the opening frame on back-to-back Queens errors. The Bulldogs hit .379 in the first set, while holding the Royals to a hitting percentage of -.034.

The Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run in the second set to take a 10-3 lead. Stumpff had three kills in the spurt, while Hilton and senior middle blocker Allison Rickher (Matthews, N.C.) contributed a kill and a block each. A Stumpff ace and Potter kill put the 'Dogs on top 15-6, while kills from Hilton and Rickher made it 19-11. The Bulldogs led 22-14 after a block from Cooke and Potter, but the Royals used a 5-0 run to cut the led to three. Barren had a kill and a block in the flurry to make it 22-19. Saehler answered with a kill, while a Queens error made it 24-19. Potter finished the second frame with an ace.

Back-to-back aces from Stumpff put Wingate on top 9-4 in the third set. Kills from Murach and Hilton made it 14-7, while a 5-0 run pushed the advantage to 10 at 19-9. Hilton and Stumpff contributed two kills apiece in the flurry. Back-to-back aces from Sparrell cut the lead to seven at 20-13, but a Queens error and Stumpff ace made it 22-13. Kills from Potter and Murach put the 'Dogs on top 24-17, while a Hilton kill finished the match.

The Bulldogs hit .278 on the afternoon, with 42 kills and just 10 errors in 115 attacks. Queens had 29 kills and 17 errors in 115 attacks, hitting .104.

The Bulldogs will look to win an eighth consecutive SAC Tournament title Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Wingate will take on the winner of the Tusculum vs. Anderson match.