BOX SCORE
Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs hit .407 on the night, as they swept the Bears of Lenoir-Rhyne University in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Friday night in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 25-15, 25-8 and 26-24 to improve to 23-1 overall and 16-0 in the SAC. LRU falls to 12-13 overall and 5-11 in the conference. The Bulldogs have now won 21 straight matches this season, and 62 consecutive regular season SAC matches dating back to the 2007 season. Wingate clinches at least a share of the regular season SAC championship, claiming the title for the fifth consecutive year.
Redshirt freshman middle blocker
Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) led the Wingate attack with 12 kills, hitting .556 for the match while adding three blocks. Senior middle blocker
Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) added 11 kills, 12 digs and five blocks, hitting .407 on the night. Seniors
Rebecca Bloemer (Louisville, Ky.) and
Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) added seven kills each for the Bulldogs. Senior setter Amanda Clark handed out 30 assists, while freshman libero
Rianne Lang (Littleton, Colo.) collected 12 digs.
Junior outside hitter
Brooke Christenbury (Mooresville, N.C.) notched match highs of 13 kills and 15 digs to lead the Lenoir-Rhyne attack. Sophomore outside hitter
Katelin Wensley (Advance, N.C.) chipped in with five kills for the Bears. Freshman setter
Kaitlyn Burton (Mills River, N.C.) handed out 26 assists, while junior libero
Marrissa Church (Statesville, N.C.) collected 15 digs.
Kills by Hilton and Gale, followed by a block from the two gave the Bulldogs a 16-7 lead in the first set. The Bears closed the gap to six when a Christenbury kill made it 18-12. A Bloemer kill, followed by another block from Gale and Hilton pushed the Wingate lead back to eight at 22-14. Gale made it 24-15 with a kill, while Hilton capped the opening frame with a kill. The Bulldogs hit .419 in the first set, with 19 kills against just one error.
Back-to-back kills from Billo gave the ‘Dogs a 14-4 advantage in the second set. Billo started a 4-0 run that put Wingate on top 21-6. Hilton made it 24-8 with a kill, while Wingate claimed set two on a Lenoir-Rhyne error. The Bulldogs had 15 kills in just 24 swings in the second frame, hitting .583 while LRU hit .000 in the second stanza.
The third set featured 10 ties and four lead changes. A kill by Wensley, followed by a Wingate error gave the Bears a 16-13 advantage. The Bulldogs responded with four consecutive points to take a 17-16 lead, capped by kills from Hilton and Gale. Kills from Burton and junior middle blocker
Chelsea Hill (Lexington, N.C.) put the Bears on top 23-20. Bloemer answered with a kill, but the Bears responded with a Christenbury kill to make it 24-21. Another Bloemer kill, followed by a block from Gale and Billo cut the deficit to one. Back-to-back attack errors from the Bears gave Wingate a 25-24 lead. Junior outside hitter
Janice Ehorn (Orange, Conn.) finished the match with a kill.
Wingate had 54 kills against eight errors in 113 attacks for the .407 hitting percentage. Lenoir-Rhyne hit .174, with 33 kills and 14 errors in 109 attacks. Wingate’s 54 kills are a season-high in a three-set match, while the .407 hitting percentage ties a season high. The Bulldogs raise their league-best hitting percentage to .278. They are now averaging 14.89 kills per set, which leads the Sac and ranks second nationally.
The contest was the final regular season home match for Wingate’s four seniors. The group has never lost a regular season SAC match, and has helped The Bulldogs rank in the top three in the nation in winning percentage all four years. Wingate’s .958 winning percentage leads the nation this season. The group went 58-1 all-time in regular season matches played at Cuddy Arena. Wingate is 123-7 since their arrival on campus in 2007, good for a .946 winning percentage which leads all of Division II.
Wingate returns to action next Friday, traveling to Newberry College for a 7 p.m. start. The Bulldogs play at Anderson University Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. Lenoir-Rhyne hosts Fayetteville State Tuesday at 7 p.m.
