BOX SCORE

Greeneville, Tenn.----For the third time in the last four road matches, the 15th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs dropped the opening set on the road. The Bulldogs once again responded, notching a 3-1 victory at Tusculum College, snapping a 17-match home court winning streak for the Pioneers that dated back to Wingate’s last visit to Pioneer Arena. Wingate won by scores of 28-30, 25-9, 25-23 and 25-14 to improve to 22-0 overall and 13-0 in the SAC. Tusculum falls to 15-8 overall and 8-5 in the SAC. The Bulldogs have won 77 straight SAC matches and 45 consecutive regular season contests.
 
Freshman outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had 18 kills and 15 digs to lead the Wingate attack. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) added 14 kills and a career-high 24 digs, while sophomore outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had 13 kills for the Bulldogs. Junior middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) and freshman middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) had nine kills each, while Potter hit .444 and added four blocks. Senior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) piled up 55 assists and 18 digs, while senior libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) collected 28 digs.

"Tusculum had a great crowd and played a very inspired first set,” Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. “I am very proud of our team for identifying the level of play we would need to come out of here with a victory. I believe we will be the only team to beat Tusculum on its home court this year, which is something to be proud of.”
 
Tusculum had seven different players with at least three kills, led by Sam Underwood, who had nine kills and nine digs. Bailee Price had eight kills and eight digs for the Pioneers, while Kassie Voelker and Taylor Boone had six kills each. Ashley Sarmiento had 30 assists and nine digs, while Caitlyn Dean piled up 39 digs.
 
The first set would stay extremely close throughout, with neither team ever leading by more than two. A kill from Voelker gave Tusculum a 21-19 lead. The Bulldogs scored the next four points, getting two Potter kills along with an ace from freshman defensive specialist Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.), to take a 23-21 lead. The Pioneers scored the next two points, tying it at 23 on a Megan Hasse kill. The teams would then trade points, with Wingate staving off four set points from Tusculum, while the Bulldogs had one chance to claim the set. A Voelker kill gave Tusculum a 29-28 lead, while Price finally ended the opening frame with a kill.
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-1 lead in the second set and never looked back. McGowan, Murach and Hilton had two kills each in the early spurt. A pair of kills from Potter, along with a McGowan kill, gave the ‘Dogs a 19-6 advantage. Potter added another kill to make the score 24-8, while Murach capped the second frame with a kill, tying the match at one set each. Wingate hit .438 in the second set, with 15 kills and only one error, while Tusculum hit negative .051 in the second frame.
 
A 4-1 run, capped by a kill from Brianna Anderson, gave Tusculum a 16-13 lead in the third set. The Bulldogs had the emphatic answer, going on an 11-1 run to take a 24-17 lead. McGowan highlighted the spurt with three consecutive kills and a block. Potter added a late kill, while a Tusculum error gave the ‘Dogs a seven-point lead. The Pioneers would not go away, scoring six straight points to cut the lead to one. All six points in the run came via Wingate errors. The Bulldogs responded, putting the set away on a kill from McGowan to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Wingate came out on fire in the fourth set, taking a 10-2 lead, highlighted by a pair of Hilton kills. Tusculum battled back, cutting the deficit to four when a kill from Natalie Gaudreau made the score 16-12. The Bulldogs answered with the next five points to take a 21-12 advantage. Hilton started the run with a kill, while Murach followed with three consecutive kills to push the lead to nine. A kill and an ace from Murach made the margin 24-14, while McGowan capped the match with a kill.
 
The Bulldogs hit .221 on the night, with 66 kills and 26 errors in 181 attacks. The Pioneers had 41 kills and 21 errors in 182 attacks, hitting .110 on the night. Tusculum had 19 kills in the opening set against Wingate, while totaling 22 combined in the final three frames.
 
Wingate returns to action Saturday, traveling to Mars Hill College for a 5 p.m. start. The Pioneers host Catawba College Saturday at 12 noon.
 
(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.)