Box Score

St. Paul, Minn.----The 21st-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs opened the 2013 season with a thrilling 3-2 victory over Hillsdale College on day one of the 2013 Concordia Tournament Friday afternoon. Wingate won by scores of 28-26, 17-25, 25-13, 21-25 and 15-7 to improve to 1-0 on the season. The Chargers, who are receiving votes in the preseason AVCA poll, open the season 0-1.

Redshirt senior All-American right-side hitter Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) piled up a career-high 18 kills to go along with 24 digs and five blocks to lead the Wingate attack. Junior middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) tied her career high with 16 kills, adding seven digs while hitting .394 on the match. Junior outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had 11 kills and 11 digs for the Bulldogs, while freshman Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) contributed seven kills and four blocks in her collegiate debut. Redshirt junior setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) piled up 55 assists, 15 digs and five kills, while junior libero Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) registered a match high 33 digs.

"This was one of the most hard fought, rewarding wins we have ever had here," head coach Shelton Collier says. "Hillsdale was a top 10nationally ranked team last year, with most of their team returning, so it was a huge challenge for us to play at a level that could win the match. We are proud we were able to get such an important win in our very first match of the season."

Emily Wolfert had 16 kills to lead the Hillsdale attack. Meagan McPhetridge and Caitlin Kopmeyer added 12 kills each, with Kopmeyer collecting 22 digs. Lindsay Kostrzewa contributed 11 kills for the Chargers, while Alexis Waugh had 33 assists and nine digs.

Kills from Saehler and sophomore outside hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) gave Wingate a 13-9 lead in the opening set. Potter and Saehler slammed home kills to push the advantage to six at 19-13. Hillsdale would come storming back, using a 5-0 run to tie the set at 21 on a Wolfert kill. A Hilton kill and Hillsdale error put the 'Dogs on top by two, but a 4-1 run, capped by a block from Wolfert tied it at 24. The teams would then trade points, with a Wingate error following a Hilton kill tying the frame one final time at 26. Saehler gave the Bulldogs a 27-26 lead, while a Hillsdale attack error finished the opening set. Wingate hit .359 in set one, piling up 19 kills against just five errors.

A McPhetridge kill capped a 4-0 run, giving Hillsdale a 13-9 lead in set two. A Hilton kill would cut it to three at 15-12, but another McPhetridge kill pushed the Charger advantage back to four at 19-15. Hilton answered with a kill to cut the deficit to three, but a 5-0 run would give Hillsdale a 24-16 advantage. Wolfert capped the second set with a kill, tying the match at one.

An early 5-0 run gave Wingate a 9-3 lead in the third set, with Potter registering a pair of kills in the spurt. The Chargers cut the lead to five when a McPhetridge kill made it 14-9, but a 4-1 Wingate run pushed the advantage to eight. Murach had a kill and a block in the flurry, while Hilton capped it with a kill. Another 5-0 run made it 23-11, with Murach registering two more kills and a block. Potter finished the third set with a kill to give Wingate a 2-1 lead in the match. The Bulldogs hit .455 in the third frame, with 18 kills and three errors in 33 swings.

Kills from Saehler and senior middle blocker Allison Rickher (Matthews, N.C.) gave the Bulldogs a 13-9 lead in the fourth set. A kill from Kat Vael cut the lead to three at 14-11, but a pair of Hilton kills, along with a Potter kill gave the 'Dogs an 18-12 advantage. Hillsdale had the emphatic response, scoring eight of the next nine points to take a 20-19 lead. Wolfert and McPhetridge had two kills each in the spurt. Wingate tied it at 20, but a pair of Kopmeyer kills helped the Chargers take a commanding 24-20 lead. Kopmeyer added another kill to send the match to a fifth set.

Hillsdale jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the fifth set, but three consecutive Murach kills gave Wingate the lead. Hilton added an ace to make it 6-4. A Bulldog error got Hillsdale back to within one at 7-6, but back-to-back attack errors from the Chargers put the 'Dogs on top by three. A Wingate error made it 9-7, but that would be the last point Hillsdale would score in the match. On the strength of Cooke's serving, Wingate would score the final six points of the set to secure the win. Kills from Stumpff, Hilton and Rickher made it 13-7, while another Stumpff kill gave the Bulldogs match point. Rickher and Hilton teamed for a block to give the Bulldogs the season-opening win. Wingate hit .409 in the final frame, holding Hillsdale to four kills and a hitting percentage of .000.

The Bulldogs hit .224 on the match, with 67 kills against 23 errors in 196 attacks. Hillsdale registered 63 kills and 27 errors in 202 attacks, hitting .178 on the match. Hilton's five blocks were a team-high, followed by Saehler's four and Rickher's three. Senior defensive specialist Rianne Lang (Littleton, Colo.) had two of Wingate's four aces on the day.

Both teams are back in action Friday afternoon in the Concordia Tournament. Wingate will take the ninth-ranked University of Indianapolis at 4:30 p.m., while Hillsdale takes on top-ranked Concordia-St. Paul at 8:30 p.m.