PHOTO GALLERY
Wingate, N.C.----The 19th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs defeated the Pioneers of Tusculum College 3-1 in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Friday night in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 25-17, 25-23, 20-25 and 25-22 to improve to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in the SAC. Tusculum falls to 9-2 overall and 2-1 in the SAC. The ‘Dogs have now won 30 consecutive regular season matches dating back to last season and 67 consecutive SAC contests, dating back to the 2006 season.
Junior middle blocker
Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) had 15 kills and a .342 hitting percentage to lead the Wingate attack. Freshman outside hitter
Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had 12 kills and 20 digs, while redshirt sophomore middle blocker
Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) added 12 kills, 19 digs and five blocks. Freshman outside hitter
Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) contributed 10 kills and nine digs, while senior libero
Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) collected a team-best 22 digs. Senior setter
Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) had 50 assists and 12 digs for the Bulldogs.
“First, I was appreciative of the tremendous crowd support we had tonight,” head coach
Shelton Collier says. “This was the highlight for me, we had so many students and volleyball fans, it was an exciting event. The good news is that we held the best offensive team in the league to a very low hitting percentage. The bad news is that we hit very poorly, but tonight, it was good enough to win. Tusculum is a much better offensive team than us, so we were fortunate that they had an off night here tonight.”
Sophomore middle blocker
Kassie Voelker (Morristown, Tenn.) led the Pioneers with 11 kills. Junior outside hitter
Sam Underwood (Muncie, Ind.) had nine kills and 12 digs. Junior outside hitter
Bailee Price (Fort Wayne, Ind.) had eight kills and 16 digs, while junior outside hitter
Natalie Gaudreau (Venice, Fla.) added eight kills and 11 digs. Sophomore setter
Ashley Sarmiento (Dayton, Ohio) had 38 assists and 15 digs, while sophomore libero
Caitlyn Dean (Fort Wayne, Ind.) collected a match-high 32 digs.
Wingate used a 4-0 run to take an 11-7 lead in the opening frame, capped by back-to-back kills from freshman middle blocker
Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa). A kill from Gaudreau trimmed the lead to two at 13-11. The ‘Dogs answered with four straight points to push the lead to six. Murach sparked the spurt with a pair of kills. The Pioneers would get no closer than five the rest of the way, as Krauser capped the opening frame with a kill.
Kills from Krauser and McGowan gave the Bulldogs a 19-16 advantage in the second set. Tusculum cut the lead to two on a Wingate error, but the ‘Dogs pushed the lead to five when a Willis ace made the score 23-18. Tusculum would not go away, scoring the next four points to cut the Wingate lead to one. Gaudreau started the run with a kill, while Voelker capped things with a kill. A kill from Hilton gave the Bulldogs a 24-22 lead. Gaudreau answered with a kill to make the tally 24-23, but the ‘Dogs claimed the second set on a Tusculum error.
The Pioneers used a 4-0 run to turn a tie into a 17-13 lead in the third frame. Price started the flurry with a kill, while three Wingate errors finished the spurt. A Hilton kill and two Tusculum errors got the Bulldogs to within one at 17-16. The Pioneers responded with four straight points, highlighted by a kill from Voelker. A Price kill gave Tusculum a 24-19 lead, while a kill from Underwood capped the third set for the Pioneers.
Kills from Potter and Hilton gave Wingate a 15-11 advantage in the fourth set. McGowan and Krauser added kills to push the margin to six at 18-12. Tusculum used a 7-2 run to cut the lead to one at 21-20. Underwood started the spurt with a kill, while Price added a pair of kills. Wingate responded with three consecutive points to take a 24-20 lead. Murach started the movement with a kill, while Potter and Hilton combined for a pair of huge blocks to set up match point for the Bulldogs. Voelker notched a kill to cut the TC deficit 24-22. The ‘Dogs then turned to Hilton, who wrapped up the match with a kill.
Wingate hit .176 for the match, with 57 kills and 25 errors in 182 attacks. The Pioneers hit .134 for the match, with 46 kills and 22 errors in 179 attacks. Potter led all players with six blocks, while Hilton added five.
Wingate returns to action Saturday, hosting Mars Hill College at 2 p.m. Tusculum travels to Catawba College Saturday for a 2 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.)
NCAA Division II box score
http://www.wingatebulldogs.com/custompages/volleyball/2011/wuvbgm07.htm#GAME.BOX
