Box Score

St. Paul, Minn.----For the second consecutive day the 21st-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs knocked off a top-15 opponent, defeating 11th-ranked Colorado School of Mines 3-1 on day two of the Concordia Tournament. Wingate won by scores of 25-16, 25-27, 25-20 and 25-18 to improve to 3-0 on the season. The Orediggers fall to 0-3 on the year. This is the second highest-ranked opponent Wingate has ever defeated. The Bulldogs knocked off ninth-ranked UIndy Friday.

Redshirt senior All-American right-side hitter Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) had 13 kills and 15 digs to lead the Wingate attack, hitting .345. Junior outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had 12 kills and 12 digs, while sophomore outside hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) had 10 kills, five digs and four blocks. Junior middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) piled up eight kills and nine blocks, hitting .444. Redshirt junior setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) had 47 assists, nine digs and seven blocks, while junior libero Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) collected 24 digs.

"We obviously have an experienced team, but we wanted to prove that we could win not only at the regional level, but against top nationally-ranked teams as well," head coach Shelton Collier says. "We worked hard to prepare for this tournament and are proud we have won some big matches against ranked teams."

Allana Winfield had 18 kills to lead the attack for School of Mines, hitting .359. Melanie Wannamaker added 17 kills with a .324 hitting percentage. Sarah Pekarek added 10 kills and 15 digs while Danielle Johnson-Hazlewood had 50 assists and nine digs for the Orediggers.

A kill and an ace from Murach gave the Bulldogs a 13-10 lead in the opening set. A Wingate error cut the lead to two, but kills from Hilton and Potter pushed the advantage to four at 15-11. A Stumpff kill put the 'Dogs on top by five, but three straight Wingate errors cut the lead to two at 18-16. The Bulldogs had the answer, scoring the final seven points of the set. Kills from Potter, freshman middle blocker Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) and Murach started the flurry, while a pair of Saehler blocks made it 23-16. A Cooke kill made it 24-16, while a Mines error finished the opening frame.

Kills from Hilton and Stumpff gave Wingate a 13-9 lead in the second set. A Bulldog error and Wannamaker block cut the lead to one at 14-13. A pair of Murach kills, followed by a Cooke ace gave the 'Dogs a 19-15 advantage. Senior middle blocker Allison Rickher (Matthews, N.C.) added a pair of kills to make it 21-17. The Orediggers fought back, cutting the lead to one when a kill from Johnson-Hazlewood made it 23-22. Stumpff answered with a kill, but Mines fended off two set points, tying it at 24 on a Winfield kill. A Pekarek kill and Wingate error gave Mines a 26-25 lead, while a block from Samantha Fischer capped the set, tying the match at one.

A kill and two blocks from Saehler gave Wingate an early 4-0 lead in the third set. Mines battled back, cutting the lead to one at 10-9 on a Winfield kill. A Wannamaker kill and Cassie Vick ace put the Orediggers on top 13-12. A pair of Murach kills spurred a 4-1 run to put the 'Dogs on top 17-15. Mines responded with a 4-0 run, taking a 19-17 advantage on a Winfield kill. A pair of Hilton kills, along with a mines error put the Bulldogs back on top by one, while a Stumpff kill made it 21-19. A Wingate error cut the lead to one, but the 'Dogs would score the last four points of the frame. A Stumpff kill, followed by two errors from the Orediggers made it 24-20. Tassone gave the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead in the match with an ace.

Three early Wannamaker kills helped Mines take an early 4-1 lead in the fourth set. Wingate would turn to the defense, scoring its next five points on blocks to take an 8-5 lead. Potter was a part of all five blocks, while Cooke was also involved in three. Back-to-back Cooke kills put the 'Dogs on top 11-7. A Pekarek kill and Wingate error trimmed the lead to two but another block from Potter and Cooke, followed by a Potter kill gave the Bulldogs an 18-13 advantage. A Winfield kill got Mines back to within four at 21-17, but a Rickher kill and two Oredigger errors made it 24-17. Hilton finished the match with a kill.

Wingate hit .267 on the match with 55 kills and 16 errors in 146 attacks. The Orediggers had 56 kills and 33 errors in 169 attacks, hitting .136 on the match. Wingate piled up 15 blocks on the match, led by Potter's nine, which ties a career high.

The Bulldogs have two more matches remaining in the Concordia Tournament. Wingate takes on no. 20 Wayne State Saturday at 4:30 p.m., then takes on top-ranked Concordia Sunday at 1 p.m.