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St. Paul, Minn.----The 21st-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs picked up their second impressive win on opening day of the 2013 season, taking down the ninth-ranked University of Indianapolis Greyhounds in their second five-set match of the day. Wingate was trailing 12-9 in the decisive fifth set, but scored the last six points to knock off its highest ranked opponent in program history. The Bulldogs prevailed by scores of 25-17, 21-25, 25-21, 16-25 and 15-12 to move to 2-0 on the season. Indianapolis falls to 0-2. Wingate opened the season with a thrilling five-set victory over Hillsdale earlier Friday. 

Redshirt senior All-American right-side hitter Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) had a match-high 16 kills to lead the Wingate attack, adding seven digs and three blocks while hitting .343. Sophomore outside hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa)added 15 kills and 11 digs, while junior middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) had 14 kills and four blocks, hitting .500 on the match (14 kills, two errors, 24 swings). Freshman middle blocker Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) had eight kills in 11 swings, hitting .545, while junior outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) contributed seven kills and 11 digs. Redshirt junior setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) registered her second double-double of the day with 53 assists and 10 digs, while junior libero Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) collected a match-high 22 digs.

"Two of the most hard-fought five set wins ever for Wingate volleyball and both on the same day. What an awesome way for us to open the season," head coach Shelton Collier says. "Indy was a Final Four team last year, so this is obviously a huge win for our program. They were clearly in control during the fifth set and it was not looking good for us, but somehow we found a way to fight back and win."

Brittany Anglemyer hit .500 with 16 kills to lead the attack for UIndy. Hailey Brown added 13 kills, eight digs and four blocks, while Julia Watkins had 11 kills. Arielle Knafel had 10 kills and 13 digs for the Greyhounds. Meghan Binkerd handed out 53 assists, while Kimberly Trojan registered 22 digs.
Wingate used a 4-1 run to take a 13-9 lead in the opening set. Stumpff and Hilton each had a pair of kills in the spurt. A kill from Stumpff, along with a pair of Potter kills gave the 'Dogs a 17-11 lead. A kill from Becca Lira cut the lead to four at 19-15. Kills from Hilton and Saehler pushed the advantage back to six. An ace and a kill from Knafel cut the advantage back to four at 21-17. The 'Dogs scored the last four points of the set, getting two Hilton kills in the late flurry to take the first set. Wingate hit an impressive .514 in the opening frame with 19 kills and just one error in 35 attacks.  

A kill from Kenzie Bruggeman gave UIndy a 9-4 lead in the second set. Wingate cut the lead to four when a Saehler kill made it 12-8. The Greyhounds answered with a 4-0 run, getting two kills from Watkins to take a 16-8 advantage. Kills from Saehler and Hilton, followed by a block from the duo got the Bulldogs back to within three at 22-19. Kills from Knafel and Brown pushed the lead to 24-20, while a Wingate error finished the frame, tying the match at 1-1.

A pair of Lira blocks gave UIndy an early 6-2 lead in the third set. Wingate answered with the next five points, taking a 7-6 lead on a kill and a block from Potter. The set would be back and forth until the Greyhounds got kills from Watkins and Brown to take a 17-14 lead. Kills from Potter and Cooke, followed by an ace from Potter tied it at 18. Kills from Murach and senior middle blocker Allison Rickher (Matthews, N.C.) gave the 'Dogs a 21-19 advantage. Knafel cut the lead to one with a kill to make it 22-21, but Wingate responded by scoring the final three points of the set. Kills from Hilton and Stumpff made it 24-21, while another Hilton kill gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Greyhounds used a 4-0 run to take a 13-7 lead in the fourth set. A Murach kill helped cut the lead to four, but Knafel answered with a kill to help UIndy push the lead back to six at 16-10. Kills from Potter and Stumpff got Wingate to within four at 17-13, but a 5-0 run made it 22-13. Anglemyer had a kill and two blocks in the flurry. Brown finished the frame with a kill, sending the match to a fifth set.

Kills from Knafel and Watkins, along with a Wingate error gave UIndy a 9-6 lead in the fifth set. A Murach kill was answered by a Watkins kill to make it 10-7. The Greyhounds led 12-9 on a kill from Anglemeyer. The Bulldogs had the emphatic response, scoring the final six points of the set to claim the match. Potter started the flurry with a kill, while an ace from Stumpff and a block from Potter and Cooke tied it at 12. A Potter kill gave the Bulldogs the lead, while a Saehler kill made it 14-12. Stumpff finished the match with an ace.

Wingate hit .266 on the match, with 66 kills and 24 errors on 158 attacks. UIndy had 63 kills and 25 errors in 162 attacks, hitting .235 on the day. Potter had a team-best five blocks for Wingate, while Hilton, Saehler and Cooke had three each. Lira had a match-high seven kills for the Greyhounds.

The Bulldogs have two more challenging matches Saturday on day two of the Concordia Tournament. Wingate faces 11th-ranked Colorado School of Mines at 10 a.m. The Bulldogs take on no. 20 Wayne State at 4:30 p.m. Wingate wraps up the tournament Sunday by taking on tournament host and six-time defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul.