BOX SCORE

Salisbury, N.C.----In a showdown of the two pre-season South Atlantic Conference favorites, the four-time defending league champion Wingate University Bulldogs turned in an impressive performance, winning 3-0 at Catawba College in SAC volleyball action Tuesday night. Wingate won by scores of 25-15, 25-22 and 25-16 to improve to 3-1 on the season and 1-0 in the SAC. The Bulldogs have won 47 consecutive SAC matches. Catawba falls to 3-2 on the season and 0-1 in the SAC.

Senior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) led the Wingate attack with 14 kills and 10 digs, while hitting .480 for the match. Freshman outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added eight kills for the Bulldogs, while senior outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) added seven kills. Junior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) registered a double-double with 20 assists and 12 digs, while junior libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) piled up a match-high 14 digs.

Junior outside hitter Shay Meeks (Kings Mountain, N.C.) led Catawba with 11 kills, while adding nine digs and a .579 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Anna Logan (Yadkinville, N.C.) added eight kills and four digs for the Indians. Sophomore setter Destin Baker (Charlotte, N.C.) handed out 12 assists, while sophomore outside hitter Kaitlyn Whitmer (Ferrum, Va.) led the way with 12 digs.

The Bulldogs used a 5-0 run to take an 8-3 lead in the first set. Billo had a pair of kills and a block in the spurt, while sophomore middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) capped it with a kill. A Whitmer kill, followed by a Wingate error cut the lead to 13-10. The Bulldogs responded with kills from Gale and redshirt freshman outside hitter Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) to push the lead back to five. Kills from McGowan and Gale put Wingate on top 22-14. Gale would finish the set with three consecutive kills.

A kill from Meeks gave Catawba a 12-10 lead in the second set. Wingate responded with a 3-0 run, capped by back-to-back kills from junior outside hitter Janice Ehorn (Orange, Conn.) to take a 13-12 lead. After the Indians tied it, the Bulldogs went on another 3-0 spurt to take the lead for good, capped by an ace from Gale. Kills from Krauser and Billo gave the ‘Dogs a 19-14 advantage. A Gale kill put Wingate on top 24-19. Catawba fought back to cut the lead to 24-22 on a kill from Logan, but the Bulldogs would once again turn to their All-American Gale, who finished the set with a kill.

The Bulldogs went on a 4-0 run to turn a 7-7 tie into a four-point advantage in the third set, capped by a Malone ace. Wingate added a 5-0 run to take a commanding 16-8 lead. Ehorn started and finished the spurt with kills. Back-to-back McGowan kills, followed by an ace from freshman outside hitter Kayla Osterhus (Matthews, N.C.) made it 22-12. Sophomore outside hitter Katie Handy (Palos Verdes, Calif.) finished the match with a kill.

Wingate hit .278 for the match, with 51 kills against 16 errors in 126 attacks. Catawba hit .175, with 30 kills and 12 errors in 103 attacks. The Bulldogs had five aces on the night, led by senior setter Amanda Clark (Timberlake, N.C.) with two.

The Bulldogs return to action this weekend, opening their home slate Friday night against Lincoln Memorial at 7 p.m. Wingate will host Carson-Newman College Saturday at 2 p.m. Catawba will host Carson-Newman Friday night at 6:30 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.)