BOX SCORE

Indian Trail, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs hit a season-best .407 as a team, defeating the Falcons of Pfeiffer University 3-0 in NCAA Division II volleyball action Sunday night at Carolina Courts. The Bulldogs won by scores of 25-19, 25-11 and 25-13 to improve to 11-1 overall. Pfeiffer falls to 2-11 on the season.

Senior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) and redshirt freshman outside hitter Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) led the Wingate attack with nine kills each, while each hitting .529 on the night. Freshman outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added eight kills and a .438 hitting percentage in just two sets, while senior outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) had six kills and five digs in two sets. Senior setter Amanda Clark (Timberlake, N.C.) handed out 24 assists, while junior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) added 20 assists. Gale led the Bulldogs with nine digs, while junior libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) added eight digs.

Senior outside hitter Kristina Mordini (Freeport, Ill.) had nine kills and 10 digs to lead the Pfeiffer attack. Sophomore middle blocker Abbie Ovbey (Mt. Gilead, N.C.) added seven kills, while freshman outside hitter Kim Amerell (Lynchburg, Va.) contributed six kills for the Falcons. Junior setter Colleen Wands (Apex, N.C.) handed out 23 assists for Pfeiffer, while junior libero Kaci Markham (Asheboro, N.C.) collected a match-high 12 digs.

A kill from freshman middle blocker Allison Rickher (Matthews, N.C.) gave Wingate a 13-8 lead in the first set. A kill from Mordini, along with a kill from freshman middle hitter Anna Vizvary (North Augusta, S.C.) cut the lead to 13-12. The ‘Dogs answered with a 4-0 run to take a 17-12 advantage. Freshman outside hitter Janice Ehorn (Orange, Conn.) started and ended the spurt with kills. Kills from freshman outside hitter Kayla Osterhus (Matthews, N.C.) and sophomore middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) put Wingate on top 23-17. Osterhus capped the set with a kill.

A 4-0 run, capped by two kills and a block from Hilton, put Wingate on top 15-6 in the second frame. A kill from Billo, followed by a Rickher kill made it 20-9. The lead would not go below nine the rest of the way, with Billo capping the set with an ace. Wingate hit .548 in the second frame, with 19 kills against only two errors.

Back-to-back Gale kills gave the Bulldogs a 16-8 lead in the final set. The Falcons cut it to six on a kill from Mordini. Wingate stretched the lead to eight when an Osterhus kill made it 20-12. A McGowan kill, followed by back-to-back Pfeiffer errors, made it 23-12. Another McGowan kill made it 24-13, while Wingate claimed the match on a Pfeiffer error.

The Bulldogs had 52 kills and just eight errors for their .407 hitting percentage. Pfeiffer hit .167 on the night, with 26 kills and 10 errors in 96 attempts. The Bulldogs had five blocks, led by Gale and Hilton with three each. Wingate also notched seven aces, led by Gale with three. 

The Bulldogs return to action Tuesday, traveling to Brevard College for a 7 p.m. South Atlantic Conference start. Wingate returns home Oct. 5, hosting Winston-Salem State University at 7 p.m. Pfeiffer is back in action Friday, traveling to Converse College for a 7 p.m. Conference Carolinas encounter.

(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.)