BOX SCORE

Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University freshman outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had 14 kills and 11 digs to lead number 15 Wingate to a 3-0 victory over visiting Lincoln Memorial University in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs won by scores of 25-12, 26-24 and 25-17 to improve to 21-0 overall and 13-0 in the SAC. The ‘Dogs continue their best start in school history, while winning their 76th consecutive SAC match and 44th straight regular season contest. The Railsplitters fall to 13-5 overall and 8-4 in the SAC.

Murach hit .393 on the afternoon, while adding a block and an ace to her ledger. Junior middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) added 12 kills, three blocks and two aces, hitting .500 on the afternoon. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) had 10 kills and zero errors in 17 swings, hitting .588 while adding eight digs. Senior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) had 41 assists and seven digs.
 
“If someone had told me before the match that we would play all 15 players and hit .370 against the second best team in our league, I would have said that was crazy, but it did in fact happen,” Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. “Obviously, we were in control in sets one and three; we had a great comeback to win the second set. We had some hitters hit some incredible percentages…against one of the top teams in the region, so it seems we are making some great progress as our season is progressing.”
 
Junior middle blocker Blaire Fowler (Fort Worth, Texas) had team highs of 11 kills and nine digs to lead the LMU attack, hitting .348. Sophomore outside hitter Kaitlin Walton (Muncie, Ind.) and freshman outside hitter Allison Beavers (Tomball, Texas) had seven kills each, while Beavers added 15 assists.
 
A pair of Krauser kills, along with a Hilton kill and two Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) kills, gave Wingate a 15-6 lead in the opening set. Three consecutive Murach kills stretched Wingate’s lead to 21-10. The lead would remain in double digits the rest of the way. Senior outside hitter Janice Ehorn (Orange, Conn.) made the score 24-12 with a kill, while Krauser finished the first set with a kill. The Bulldogs hit .486 in the opening frame, with 20 kills and only two errors.
 
A kill from freshman middle blocker Kelsey Handel (Knoxville, Tenn.) gave the ‘Dogs a 10-7 lead in set two. The Railsplitters answered, taking a 14-12 lead on a kill by junior outside hitter Jennifer Drumm (Stanton, Mich.), followed by two straight Wingate errors. LMU took a 19-15 advantage on another kill from Drumm. An ace from sophomore Chelsea Ferron (Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) gave Lincoln Memorial a 21-17 lead.
 
A Krauser kill and an LMU error got the Bulldogs to within two at 23-21, but a kill from junior setter Brittany Pugh (Farmersburg, Ind.) made the score 24-21. Wingate staved off three straight set points, getting two Krauser kills along with an LMU error to make knot the frame at 24-24. Krauser and sophomore outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) made the score 25-24 with a block, while an LMU error gave set two to Wingate.
 
Kills from Murach and Hilton gave the ‘Dogs a 13-9 lead in the final set. Kills from Walton and Drumm trimmed the lead to two. The Bulldogs stretched the lead to five at 17-12, getting three Krauser kills in the 4-1 run. A Beavers kill and a Wingate error trimmed the LMU deficit to four at 19-15. The Bulldogs pushed the lead to seven at 23-16 on a Murach kill. Freshman outside hitter Kayla Osterhus (Matthews, N.C.) made the tally 24-17 with a kill, while the ‘Dogs claimed the match on an LMU error.
 
Wingate hit .370 on the afternoon, with 51 kills and 11 errors in 108 attacks. Lincoln Memorial hit .202, with 34 kills and 13 errors in 104 attacks. Wingate’s .370 hitting percentage is a season high in SAC play this season.
 
Wingate returns to action Friday, traveling to Tusculum College for a 7 p.m. start. The Railsplitters travel to Kentucky State University Tuesday 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.)