Box Score
 
Brevard, N.C.----South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year  Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) piled up 17 kills and 18 digs in her first career postseason match, leading the top-seeded Bulldogs past the eight-seeded Anderson University Trojans 3-1 on day one of the 2012 Food Lion SAC Tournament. Wingate won by scores of 25-21, 25-19, 25-27 and 25-15 to improve to 27-2 overall, advancing to Saturday’s semifinals. The six-time defending SAC Tournament champions have now won 19 straight SAC Tournament matches. Anderson ends its season at 13-17 overall.

Stumpff hit .292 on the day, committing only three errors in 48 attacks. SAC Player of the Year Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) added 12 kills and 18 digs, hitting .364 on the afternoon. Senior middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) had nine kills and four blocks, hitting .412 on the day, while sophomore outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) registered nine kills and 12 digs. Redshirt sophomore setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) had 36 assists, 11 digs, four kills and two blocks, while junior libero Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) collected 19 digs.

“Winning the SAC Tournament championship is all about surviving, winning and advancing,” head coach Shelton Collier says. “We are pleased that we will be moving on to the semifinals on Saturday. We had some very good performances and our players realize that we will need to keep elevating our level of play if we want to bring home the trophy again.”

Tiffany Rowe had 13 kills and four blocks to lead the Anderson attack. Shannon Gillespie added 12 kills and 19 digs for the Trojans. Hailey Pittman added 11 kills, while Kelley Lacey had 10 kills and 23 digs. Meghan Cautero handed out 27 assists, while Alix Hooker registered 24 digs.

A pair of Hilton kills helped Wingate jump out to an 8-3 lead in the opening set. Anderson fought back, cutting it to 10-7 on a Pittman kill. Kills from Krauser and Stumpff pushed the lead back to six at 13-7, but the Trojans again trimmed it to three on a Gillespie kill. A Hilton kill capped a 5-1 Wingate run that made it 19-13. A Gillespie kill would once again get Anderson back within three at 22-19 with a kill, but kills from Cooke and Stumpff made it 24-19. An Anderson error capped the opening frame.

A block and a kill from Cooke put Wingate on top 11-6 in the second set. A Lacey kill, followed by a block from Gillespie and Rowe made it 13-10. Kills from Hilton and Murach stretched the advantage back to six at 17-11. A block and a kill from Stumpff gave the ‘Dogs a 20-13 lead. Wingate claimed the second set on a pair of Anderson errors.

A Pittman ace and Rowe kill put the Trojans on top 13-9 in the third set. A kill from Lacey pushed the lead to five at 15-10. Wingate answered with a 6-1 run to tie it at 16. Murach and Stumpff started it with kills, while a pair of blocks from junior middle blocker Allison Rickher (Matthews, N.C.) capped the flurry. No team would lead by more than two the rest of the way. A kill from Rickher gave Wingate a 23-22 advantage. Pittman tied it with a kill, while a Wingate error put the Trojans back on top. A kill from Rowe gave Anderson a 26-25 lead, while a Gillespie kill sent the match to a fourth set.

A 4-0 run put the Bulldogs on top 13-7 in the fourth set, with kills coming from Krauser, Hilton, Stumpff and Murach. Gillespie cut the lead to four with a kill, but a Murach kill pushed it back to five at 16-11. Another 4-0 run pushed the advantage to eight at 20-12. Cooke started the spurt with a kill, while Stumpff capped it with a kill. Kills from Stumpff and Krauser made it 24-14, while Hilton finished off the match with a kill. Wingate hit .341 in the final set, with 17 kills and just two errors.

The Bulldogs hit .234 on the match, with 58 kills and 18 errors in 171 attacks. Anderson had 52 kills and 29 errors in 185 attacks, hitting .124 on the match. Rickher had a match-high five blocks, while Krauser added four. Rowe led the Trojans with four blocks.

Wingate advances to Saturday’s semifinal contest at 1:30 p.m. The Bulldogs will take on the winner of the Lenoir-Rhyne vs. Newberry match. The SAC Championship contest will be Sunday at 2 p.m.