Greeneville, Tenn.----The Wingate University Bulldogs notched their 51st consecutive South Atlantic Conference volleyball regular season victory Saturday afternoon, sweeping the Pioneers of Tusculum College 3-0. Wingate won by scores of 26-24, 25-21 and 25-17 to improve to 8-1 overall and 5-0 in the SAC. Tusculum falls to 7-3 overall and 5-1 in the SAC.

Redshirt freshman outside hitter Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) led the Wingate attack with 11 kills, while hitting .588 on the day. Senior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) added 10 kills, four digs and three blocks for the Bulldogs, while freshman outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had 10 kills and seven digs. Senior setter Amanda Clark (Timberlake, N.C.) handed out 20 assists, while junior libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) and sophomore middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) had 10 digs each.

Sophomore outside hitter Bailee Price (Fort Wayne, Ind.) led the Tusculum attack with 12 kills to go along with 13 digs. Senior middle blocker Allyson Ray (Hudson, Fla.) added 10 kills with a .438 hitting percentage. Freshman setter Ashley Sarmiento (Dayton, Ohio) handed out 36 assists for the Pioneers, while sophomore defensive specialist Melanie Gibson (Signal Mountain, Tenn.) led the way with 18 digs.

“Tusculum is definitely one of the top teams in the South Atlantic Conference,” Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. “…Winning 3-0 on their home court is very impressive. We had some players step up in important situations for us. This win at Tusculum will certainly be one of our most important victories of the season.”

A Gale kill, followed by a Tusculum error put Wingate on top 15-11 in the first set. The Pioneers fought back to tie it at 16 on a block from sophomore middle blocker Sam Underwood (Muncie, Ind.) and sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Raterman (Urbana, Ohio). A McGowan kill gave the ‘Dogs a 19-17 lead.

Tusculum answered with the next six points to take a 23-19 advantage. Price got it started with a kill, while the spurt ended with a Price kill and Wingate error. The Bulldogs scored the next three points to cut the deficit to one, sparked by a block from Gale. Tusculum took a 24-22 lead, but Wingate answered with back-to-back blocks from Gale and Hilton to tie it at 24. A McGowan ace made it 25-24; the ‘Dogs would take the first set on a Hilton kill.

“Our comeback to win game one was pretty special,” Collier says. “(The comeback) allowed us to gain the momentum to get control of the match. We have had a very challenging early schedule, so we are very pleased to be where we are right now.”

Wingate used a 7-0 run to turn a two-point lead into a 20-11 advantage. Gale got it started with a kill, while it ended with three Tusculum errors. The Pioneers got back within four on an ace from freshman defensive specialist Tori Welker (Crown Point, Ind.), followed by a Wingate error. The ‘Dogs answered with a Krauser kill to go up 23-18. Tusculum got within two at 23-21 on three straight Wingate errors. The Bulldogs finished the set on a kill from Gale, followed by a Hilton kill.

A 3-0 run in the third set gave Wingate a 13-10 lead, capped by a block and a kill from Hilton. A Raterman kill cut the lead to one at 13-12. The Bulldogs answered with four straight points to take a five-point advantage. Hilton got it started with a kill, while junior outside hitter Janice Ehorn (Orange, Conn.) added a pair of blocks in the spurt. Kills from McGowan and sophomore outside hitter Katie Handy (Palos Verdes, Calif.) made it 21-14. McGowan added another kill to make it 24-17, while Gale ended it with a kill.

Wingate hit .254 for the match, with 44 kills against 13 errors in 122 attacks. Tusculum had 40 kills and 23 errors in 123 attacks for a .138 hitting percentage. Gale, Krauser and Hilton had three blocks each to lead Wingate.

The Bulldogs return to action Tuesday, hosting Francis Marion University at 7 p.m. The Wingate University Sports Network will provide a live PPV video stream ($5.95) for the match. Tusculum visits local non-conference rival King College Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)