BOX SCORE

Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs rallied back after dropping the first set to notch a 3-1 victory over the Patriots of Francis Marion University in NCAA Division II volleyball action Tuesday night in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 21-25, 25-23, 25-14 and 25-22 to improve to 9-1 overall. The Bulldogs are now 109-7 overall since the start of the 2007 season, good for a .939 winning percentage which leads all of Division II. Francis Marion falls to 9-4 on the season.

Senior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) had 15 kills, 10 digs and five blocks, while hitting .467 on the night. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) added 11 kills, while senior outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) added 10 kills and four blocks. Junior outside hitter Janice Ehorn (Orange, Conn.) had nine kills and seven digs, while senior setter Amanda Clark (Timberlake, N.C.) collected 28 assists and 13 digs. Junior libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) racked up 22 digs for the Bulldogs, while sophomore middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) chipped in with 11 digs. 

“When we were down 3-9 in the second game, I was actually starting to think about what I was going to say to our team after losing 0-3 on our home court, to a team who outplayed us and outworked us,” head coach Shelton Collier says. “I was very pleased that we picked up our game, figured out a way to win game two, then, get control of the momentum and close out the match. Stormi continues to impress me with her hitting percentage, and Janice once again came in off the bench to play a key role.”

Junior outside hitter Ashlee Crook (Parker, Colo.) had 13 kills, 15 digs and four blocks to lead the FMU attack. Junior outside hitter Amanda Mitchell (Farragut, Tenn.) added 10 kills for the Patriots, while freshman outside hitter Riley Forester (Alpharetta, Ga.) chipped in with nine kills. Freshman setter Nicole Bennett (Round Hill, Va.) handed out 40 assists, while senior libero Kelsie Deaton (Martinsville, Ind.) collected 22 digs.

A Crook kill gave the Patriots an 11-5 lead in the first set. Wingate rallied back to cut the lead to 14-12 on a kill from Billo. Francis Marion maintained the lead, and stretched it back to four when an ace from Bennett made it 20-16. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to one at 21-20 on a Gale kill. The Patriots answered with back-to-back kills from Mitchell to make it 23-20. Another Mitchell kill made it 24-21, while Bennett put the first set away with a kill. Francis Marion hit .333 in the first set, with 13 kills and just one error.

The Patriots again got off to a quick start in the second set, taking an 11-4 lead on a kill from Crook. Back-to-back Gale blocks, along with a Gale kill cut the lead to 11-9. The Patriots again had the answer, taking a 15-10 lead on three straight Wingate errors. The Bulldogs responded by scoring the next five points to tie the set. Ehorn got it started with a block and a kill, while Hilton capped it with a kill. A Billo kill gave Wingate its first lead at 18-17. FMU tied it one final time at 19, but the ‘Dogs answered with a Krauser kill and Francis Marion error. A kill from senior middle blocker Rebecca Bloemer (Louisville, Ky.) made it 24-22, while Gale capped the set with a kill.

The Bulldogs used a 7-0 run to take a commanding 17-8 lad in the third set. Gale got it started with three straight kills, while it ended on back-to-back FMU errors. The Patriots would get no closer than eight the rest of the way. A Billo kill made it 24-13; Wingate would take the third set on a Francis Marion error. The Bulldogs hit .379 in the third frame, while FMU hit -.050.

Kills from Bloemer and Ehorn, along with an ace from Clark gave Wingate a 15-9 lead in the fourth set. A block and a kill from Billo put the Bulldogs on top 19-12. An Ehorn kill gave Wingate a 24-17 advantage. The Patriots would not go quietly, scoring five straight points to cut the lead to 24-22. Forester had two kills in the spurt, wile Crook capped it with a block. The Bulldogs would wrap up the match on a Francis Marion error.

Wingate hit .248 on the night, with 58 kills and 20 errors in 153 attacks. FMU hit .127 for the match, with 46 kills against 25 errors in 166 attacks. The Bulldogs piled up 11 blocks on the night, led by Gale and Billo.

Wingate returns to action Friday night, traveling to Lenoir-Rhyne for a 7 p.m. match. The Bulldogs will take on Pfeiffer University Sunday night at 7 p.m. at Carolina Courts in Indian Trail, N.C. Francis Marion is back in action Friday night, traveling to USC Aiken for a 7 p.m. start.

(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.)