BOX SCORE

Wingate, N.C.----The 19th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs held the visiting Mars Hill College Lions to a hitting percentage of .009 en route to a 3-0 victory in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Saturday afternoon at Cuddy Arena. The ‘Dogs won 25-23, 25-12 and 25-12 to improve to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the SAC. Wingate has now won 31 consecutive regular season contests dating back to last season and 68 straight SAC matches dating back to the 2006 season. Mars Hill falls to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in the SAC.
 
Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) had 11 kills, five digs and three blocks, hitting .450 on the afternoon to lead the Wingate attack. Freshman middle blocker Kelsey Handel (Knoxville, Tenn.) had nine kills and five blocks, hitting .533 for the day. Senior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) had 25 assists and nine digs, while senior libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) notched a match-high 21 digs.
 
The Lions had five different players with at least four kills. Freshman outside hitter Kaylen Schroeder (Gainesville, Fla.) led the Lions with five kills, while sophomore outside hitter Marissa Wixson (Spring, Texas) had four kills and 10 digs. Freshman setter Hannah Wilson (Fletcher, N.C.) handed out 12 assists, while sophomore libero Maggie Murphy (Richmond, Va.) collected 14 digs.
 
The first set was tightly contested with seven ties and four lead changes. Mars Hill used a 4-0 run to take a 14-9 lead, highlighted by a pair of kills from senior outside hitter Evie Tafunai (Edwardsburg, Mich.) Wingate answered with a 4-0 run to get to within one at 15-14. Hilton started the spurt with two kills, while a Handel kill capped the flurry.
 
Senior outside hitter Janice Ehorn (Orange, Conn.) tied the set at 18 with a kill, while an ace from freshman defensive specialist Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) put Wingate on top by one. A Tafunai kill, followed by Wingate error, put the Lions on top 22-21. The ‘Dogs answered with three straight points to take a 24-22 lead on an MHC error. Hilton slammed home a kill to give Wingate the first set.
 
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 12-1 lead in the second set and never looked back. Sophomore outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had three kills and a block in the early run. The Lions would get no closer than eight the rest of the way. Wingate scored the final four points of the set, getting an Ehorn kill to make it 23-12, and a Hilton kill to cap the set. Wingate hit .387 in set two, while Mars Hill hit .026.
 
A pair of kills from freshman middle blocker Jenna Flanigin (Aldie, Va.), along with a Handel kill, gave Wingate a 13-7 lead in the final frame. Mars Hill answered with a 3-0 run, highlighted by a kill from senior outside hitter Laura Ann Huskey (Hendersonville, N.C.) to make the deficit 13-10. Kills from McGowan, Hilton and Handel pushed the lead back to six at 16-10. Another 4-0 run, capped by a Tassone ace, gave the ‘Dogs a 20-11 advantage. A block from Flanigin and sophomore outside hitter Kayla Osterhus (Matthews, N.C.) made the margin 24-12. Osterhus capped the match with a kill. The Bulldogs hit .270 in the third set, while Mars Hill hit -.062.
 
Wingate hit .223 for the match, with 41 kills and 16 errors in 112 attacks. The Lions had 24 kills and 23 errors in 114 attacks for their .009 hitting percentage. Tassone had a match-high three aces, while Handel’s five blocks were a match high.
 
The Bulldogs return to action Tuesday, hosting Catawba College at 7 p.m. Mars Hill travels to Carson-Newman College Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 7 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.)