BOX SCORE
Jefferson City, Tenn.----The Wingate University Bulldogs swept the Eagles of Carson-Newman College in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Saturday afternoon. Wingate won by scores of 25-12, 25-18 and 25-17 to improve to 19-1 overall and 12-0 in the SAC. The Eagles fall to 12-6 overall and 6-6 in the conference. Wingate has now won 58 consecutive SAC matches, and 30 straight conference road contests.
Redshirt freshman outside hitter Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) led the Bulldogs with 10 kills and a .562 hitting percentage. Senior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) added nine kills, seven digs, three aces and a .421 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Cory McGowan chipped in with eight kills and 10 digs. Junior setter Liz Willis had 22 assists and seven digs, while senior Amanda Clark handed out 16 assists. Junior libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) collected 11 digs.
“I am very pleased that we were able to win two very important SAC road matches this weekend,” Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. “Today was a much better effort than last night. Our performance fluctuated throughout Friday’s match, but today’s performance was much more consistent, which was our goal.”
Carly Mozgai led the Eagles with 11 kills and 10 digs. Carly Swisher added nine kills, while Nikki James had six kills and four blocks. Lara McDonald handed out 17 assists for Carson-Newman.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the opening set, highlighted by two kills and two aces from Gale. Kills from Gale and McGowan, along with a Carson-Newman and a block from Hilton and sophomore middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) made it 21-8. A Hilton kill made it 24-11, while Gale capped the first set with a kill.
A 3-0 Wingate run, which included kills from Billo and sophomore outside hitter Katie Handy (Palos Verdes, Calif.) and an ace from Clark made it 12-7 in the second frame. A Krauser kill and Willis ace pushed the Wingate lead to 17-10. The Bulldogs extended the lead to nine at 22-13 on back-to-back Hilton kills. A kill and an ace from James trimmed the lead to six at 24-18. The Bulldogs took the second set on a Carson-Newman error.
A Swisher kill, followed by a block from James gave the Eagles a 6-2 lead in the third set. The Bulldogs answered with an 8-2 lead to take a 10-8 advantage. Hilton and senior middle blocker Rebecca Bloemer (Louisville, Ky.) had two kills each in the spurt. Kills from McGowan and Gale put the Bulldogs on top 15-11. A Swisher kill, along with two aces from Courtney Lawson tied the set at 15. The ‘Dogs answered by scoring the next seven points to take a 22-15 lead. McGowan had two kills and two aces in the flurry, while Hilton added a pair of kills. A Billo kill made it 24-17, while the Bulldogs finished the match on a Carson-Newman error.
Wingate hit .361 for the match, with 43 kills and eight errors in 97 attacks. The Eagles hit .143, with 30 kills and 16 errors in 98 attacks. The ‘Dogs had six aces, led by Gale’s three.
The Bulldogs return to action Friday, hosting Mars Hill College at 7 p.m. Carson-Newman travels to Newberry Friday for a 7 p.m. start.
