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Wingate University Athletics

Gary Smith

Volleyball

#13 Bulldogs push SAC winning streak to 28 with sweep over second-place Anderson

Box Score         Photo Gallery

Anderson, S.C.----The 13th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs picked up another sweep Saturday afternoon, defeating the Trojans of Anderson University 3-0 in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action. Wingate won by scores of 25-20, 25-20 and 25-16 to improve to 17-2 overall and 13-0 in the SAC. The Bulldogs have won 14 straight matches this season and 28 consecutive SAC contests. Of Wingate's 13 league wins this year, 10 have been sweeps. The second place Trojans fall to 9-8 overall and 8-4 in the conference.

Redshirt senior All-American Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) had 13 kills and six digs, hitting .462 to lead the Wingate attack. Junior middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) hit .462 with eight kills, while junior outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) registered eight kills and five digs. Redshirt junior setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) piled up 23 assists and four kills, while junior libero Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) collected a match-high 19 digs.

"I was very pleased with our focused effort and performance today," head coach Shelton Collier says. "We want to continue to win these important conference matches, while at the same time making progress, which we were able to do once again today."

Shannon Gillespie had 10 kills and 12 digs to lead the Anderson attack. Hailey Pittman added 10 kills, while Tinsley Hallman contributed six kills. Meghan Cautero handed out 18 assists, while Alix Hooker registered 17 digs.

A 6-0 run gave Wingate a 12-5 lead in the opening set. Cooke and Murach each contributed a kill in the spurt, while sophomore outside hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) capped it with an ace. A kill and a block from Hilton pushed the lead to nine at 17-8. A pair of Gillespie kills cut the lead to five at 19-14, but kills from Cooke and Murach pushed the advantage back to seven. Three Wingate errors, along with a Pittman kill cut the lead to four at 22-18. The Bulldogs took a 24-19 lead on two Anderson errors, while a Potter kill capped the opening frame.

Kills from Murach and senior middle blocker Allison Rickher (Matthews, N.C.) put Wingate on top 9-4 in the second set. A Gillespie kill trimmed the lead to three at 11-8, but a 4-0 run pushed the Bulldog advantage to six at 17-11. Cooke started the flurry with a kill, while three Anderson errors finished the flurry. The Trojans got to within three at 21-18 on a kill from Kelley Lacey. A Hilton kill, followed by a kill and a block from Potter gave Wingate a 24-19 advantage. Stumpff capped the second frame with a kill. The 'Dogs hit .414 in the second set with 16 kills.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-6 lead in the third frame, getting four early kills from Hilton. A pair of Wingate errors got Anderson within three at 12-9. The 'Dogs answered with a 5-0 run, getting a Rickher kill to take a 17-9 advantage. Kills from Murach and Hilton helped Wingate push the lead to eight at 20-12. Kills from Murach and freshman middle blocker Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) made it 24-15, while a Murach kill ended the match.

Wingate hit .308 on the afternoon, with 43 kills and 11 errors in 104 attacks. Anderson had 35 kills and 19 errors in 119 attacks, hitting .134. Potter had a team-best two blocks, while Hilton, Stumpff and sophomore Iris Brewer (Cincinnati, Ohio) registered the three Wingate aces on the day.

The Bulldogs return to action Tuesday, hosting Queens at 7 p.m. 
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