Box Score  
Jefferson City, Tenn.----The ninth-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs dropped the opening set at Carson-Newman Friday night, but rallied back to win the match 3-1 in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action. The Bulldogs won by scores of 11-25, 25-19, 25-17 and 25-19 to improve to 20-2 overall and 16-0 in the SAC. Wingate has now won 17 consecutive matches this season and 31 straight SAC matches dating back to last year. Carson-Newman falls to 9-14 overall and 4-12 in the SAC.

Junior outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had 11 kills and 11 digs to lead the Wingate attack. Redshirt senior right-side hitter Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) added 10 kills, 14 digs and four blocks, while sophomore outside hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) had nine kills and six digs. Junior middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) hit .500 with eight kills, adding a pair of blocks. Redshirt junior setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) piled up 28 assists, nine digs and five kills, while junior libero Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) added 14 digs.

"This was one of our most hard-fought wins of the year for sure," head coach Shelton Collier says. "Carson-Newman played much better than us for many important points of the match and we really had to work hard to get out with a win tonight. We learned a great deal about what we need to do to improve in some areas. We definitely had some adversity to overcome tonight, which will help us grow as a team."

Rachel Harper had 15 kills and 15 digs to lead the Carson-Newman attack, hitting .433. JaLeasa Beaver added nine kills and three blocks, while Emily Schultz contributed eight kills. Lauren Santarelli had seven kills and 12 digs for the Eagles, while Kristen Pickett had 34 assists and nine digs. Taylor Lowe collected a match-high 26 digs.
Carson-Newman scored the first five points of the opening set and never looked back. A Kiayna O'Neal kill and Wingate error gave the Eagles an 11-4 lead. A kill from senior outside hitter Rianne Lang (Littleton, Colo.) followed by a Carson-Newman error cut the lead to 13-8. The Eagles pushed the lead back to eight at 16-8 on a Beaver kill. A Harper ace and Schultz kill pushed the advantage to 21-9. Another Schultz kill made it 24-11, while a Wingate error finished the opening set.

Carson-Newman jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the second set, but the 'Dogs responded with a 6-0 run to take a 10-8 advantage. Stumpff had a kill and an ace in the spurt. A Hilton kill and Murach ace pushed the lead to three at 15-12. A Stumpff kill and Carson-Newman error pushed the advantage to five. A Santarelli kill and Lindsey Wells ace cut the lead to three at 19-16. A Potter kill, along with two Murach kill gave the 'Dogs a 24-18 lead. The Bulldogs evened the match at 1-1 on a Carson-Newman error.

Back-to-back kills from Harper gave the Eagles a 14-7 advantage in the third frame. The Bulldogs had the emphatic response, closing the set on an 18-3 run to take a lead in the match. A kill and ace from Murach, along with a Hilton ace got Wingate to within two at 15-13. After a Santarelli kill pushed the lead back to three, three consecutive Carson-Newman errors tied it at 16. A Tassone ace put Wingate on top for good at 17-16. Kills from Stumpff and Potter, followed by a Hilton block made it 22-16. Back-to-back Potter kills capped a 10-0 run to make it 24-16. A Hilton kill capped the set.

The fourth set stayed tight early, with no team leading by more than two until kills from Murach and Hilton gave Wingate a 20-17 lead. Harper responded with a kill to cut the lead to two, but a Murach kill pushed it back to three at 21-18. Schultz had the answer with a kill to make it 21-19, but Wingate scored the final four points of the set to take the match. A Carson-Newman error and Potter kill made it 23-19, while another error made it 24-19. Stumpff capped the match with a kill.

Wingate hit .179 on the match, with 50 kills and 22 errors in 156 attacks. Carson-Newman had 45 kills and 22 errors in 138 attacks, hitting .167. Murach had three of Wingate's five aces on the night, while Hilton and senior middle blocker Allison Rickher (Matthews, N.C.) had a match-high four blocks each.

Wingate returns to action Saturday, traveling to Lincoln Memorial at 1 p.m. Carson-Newman hosts Coker Saturday at 1 p.m.