St. Augustine's Box Score          WSSU Box Score

Winston-Salem, N.C.----The 16th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs picked up a pair of victories Saturday afternoon, sweeping Winston-Salem State and St. Augustine’s. The ‘Dogs started their day by defeating St. Augustine’s 25-7, 25-15 and 25-8. Wingate followed by downing the Rams 25-15, 25-8 and 25-12. The Bulldogs are now 12-0 overall.
 
“We had a chance today to play a number of different lineups and create some opportunities for players who have worked hard in practice,” head coach Shelton Collier says. “I am pleased that a number of players stepped up and played well today, and this will really help our team as we continue to develop this season.”
 
Senior outside hitter Janice Ehorn (Orange, Ct.) had eight kills to lead the Wingate attack against St. Augustine’s. Freshman outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had six kills in nine swings, hitting .667 while adding five aces. Redshirt freshman setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) had 29 assists, four digs and three blocks, while freshman libero Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) collected a career-high 15 digs.
 
The Bulldogs used an 8-0 run in the opening set to take an 11-2 lead. Ehorn had a pair of kills in the spurt, while Tassone added an ace. An Ehorn kill, followed by an ace from freshman middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) made it 16-3. A kill from Murach made it 24-7, while Potter and freshman middle blocker Jenna Flanigin (Aldie, Va.) capped the opening set.
 
A 7-0 run gave Wingate a 16-5 lead in the second set. Ehorn had a pair of kills in the spurt, while Potter added four aces. The Bulldogs took a 22-11 lead on a block from Cooke and Flanigin, followed by a Falcon error. A kill from freshman middle blocker Kelsey Handel (Knoxville, Tenn.) made it 24-15, while an ace from Potter capped the second set.
 
A 6-0 run put the Bulldogs on top 16-6 in the third set. Sophomore outside hitter Rianne Lang (Littleton, Colo.) got it started with a kill, while Tassone followed with four straight aces. Handel capped the spurt with a kill. A 7-0 run pushed the lead to 23-7. Ehorn had two kills and a block in the spurt, while Handel added a kill and a block. Sophomore outside hitter Kayla Osterhus (Matthews, N.C.) capped the match with a kill.
 
Wingate hit .377 for the match, with 35 kills and nine errors in 69 attacks. The Falcons hit -.095, with nine kills and 15 errors in 63 attacks. Wingate had 18 aces, led by Potter with six. Murach and Tassone added five each.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had a match-high 11 kills while hitting .348 to lead the Wingate attack against Winston-Salem State. Handel added seven kills and five blocks, while sophomore middle blocker Allison Rickher (Matthews, N.C.) had five kills on six swings for a .667 hitting percentage. Cooke handed out 29 assists while adding four kills and eight digs, while senior libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) had 11 digs and seven aces.
 
A block from Handel and Flanigin, followed by a McGowan ace put the Bulldogs on top 15-10 in the first set. Kills from McGowan and Rickher, along with a block from the duo put Wingate on top 21-13. Handel capped the opening frame with a kill.
 
The Bulldogs used an incredible 15-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a 20-7 lead in the second set. Malone served 14 consecutive points in the spurt, notching four aces. McGowan added four kills in the spurt, while Cooke had a pair of kills. Cooke finished the set with back-to-back aces.
 
A Handel kill, followed by a Flanigin block made it 15-10 in the third set. Kills from Osterhus and Cooke helped Wingate push the lead to seven at 18-11. The Bulldogs finished the match on a 7-0 run. Flanigin started the spurt with two kills, while Osterhus followed with an ace. A Lang kill made it 23-12, while Osterhus capped the match with back-to-back aces.
 
Wingate hit .284 for the match, with 38 kills and 13 errors in 88 attacks. The Rams hit -.101, with 13 kills and 21 errors in 79 attacks. Wingate had 13 aces, led by Malone’s seven.
 
Wingate returns to action Tuesday, hosting Lenoir-Rhyne at 7 p.m.