Box Score
 
Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University freshman outside hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) piled up 18 kills to lead the Bulldogs past the visiting Catawba College Indians 3-0 in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Tuesday night in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 26-24, 26-24 and 25-10 to win its 15th straight match, improving to 24-2 overall and 14-2 in the SAC. With the victory, the Bulldogs clinch at least a share of their seventh consecutive regular season SAC title. Catawba falls to 11-13 overall and 8-8 in the conference.

Stumpff hit .341 on the night, adding four blocks in the match. Sophomore middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) added nine kills and seven blocks, hitting .600 on the night. Redshirt junior right-side hitter Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) added seven kills, 16 digs and five blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had six kills and 10 digs. Redshirt sophomore setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) had 31 assists, 12 digs, four blocks and two kills, while sophomore libero Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) had 14 digs.

“Catawba is always a great rivalry match for us, so it was great for our team to win in straight sets tonight,” head coach Shelton Collier says. “They had us beat in set one, but we somehow found a way to come back and win that one, which gave us great momentum to keep playing even better. We held them to a hitting percentage of under .100 as a team, which is once again a credit to our defense and our execution of our scouting report.

Senior outside hitter Kaitlyn Whitmer (Ferrum, Va.) had 12 kills and 17 digs to lead the Catawba attack. Senior outside hitter Carson Brewer (Raleigh, N.C.) had seven kills and five digs, while freshman middle blocker Rachel Gallup (Fredericksburg, Va.) had six kills. Senior setter Jordan Raye (Boonville, N.C.) had 20 assists and 12 digs, while senior libero Jenny Young (Roanoke, Va.) piled up a match-high 25 digs.

The first set featured eight ties and three lead changes. The Bulldogs took a 10-7 lead on a kill from Murach. Catawba had the emphatic response, using a 9-1 run to take a 16-11 advantage. Gallup started it with a kill, while a Whitmer ace and Raye kill capped the flurry. A 6-1 Wingate run tied the set at 17. Stumpff started it with a kill, while Hilton added a kill and a block. The Indians pushed the lead back to three at 22-19 on a Whitmer kill and Wingate error. Kills from Hilton and Murach, along with a pair of Catawba errors made it 23-23. Whitmer answered with a kill to give the Indians set point, but an attack error tied it at 24. Stumpff slammed home a kill to give Wingate a 25-24 lead, while senior middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) capped the first set with an ace.

Catawba jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second set, getting a pair of early kills from Brewer. A Potter kill and Catawba error trimmed the lead to one at 9-8, but a pair of Whitmer kills helped the Indians push the lead back to four at 13-9. A 5-1 Wingate run, capped by a block from Hilton and Potter, tied it at 14. Kills from Potter and Cooke, along with two Catawba errors gave the Bulldogs a 19-15 lead. Cooke added a block and a kill to give Wingate a 23-19 advantage. A Whitmer kill and Young ace trimmed the lead to one at 23-22, but a Stumpff block made it 24-22. A Brewer kill and Wingate error tied the set at 24. Hilton slammed home a kill to make it 25-24, while a kill from Potter capped the second set.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 13-2 lead in the third set and never looked back. Stumpff had six kills and a block in the early flurry. A pair of Potter kills gave Wingate a 17-4 lead. Hilton and junior middle blocker Allison Rickher (Matthews, N.C.) teamed for a block to make it 20-6. Hilton made it 24-10 with a kill, while a Catawba error finished the match. The Bulldogs hit .412 in the final frame, with 15 kills and just one error.

Wingate hit .224 on the night, with 44 kills and 14 errors in 134 attacks. Catawba had 39 kills and 25 errors in 142 attacks, hitting .099. Potter had a match-high seven blocks, while Stumpff had two solo blocks for the Bulldogs.

Wingate returns to action Friday, traveling to Lincoln Memorial for a 7 p.m. start. The Bulldogs wrap up regular season action Saturday at 2 p.m. at Carson-Newman. Catawba is at Carson-Newman Friday at 7 p.m.