Wingate, N.C.----The ninth-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs hit .375 for the match Friday night, sweeping the visiting Lions of Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action in Cuddy arena. Wingate won by scores of 25-15, 25-13 and 25-11 to improve to 17-1 overall and 10-0 in the SAC. The 'Dogs have won 47 consecutive SAC matches and 130 of 132 league contests overall. Mars Hill falls to 5-12 overall and 4-6 in the conference.
Sophomore middle blocker
Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) had eight kills in 11 swings to lead the Wingate attack, hitting .727 while adding two blocks. Junior right-side hitter
Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) added eight kills and six digs, while senior middle blocker
Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) had seven kills and seven blocks. Senior outside
Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had seven kills and seven digs for the Bulldogs. Redshirt senior setter
Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) had 25 assists and eight digs, while freshman libero
Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) collected 13 digs.
"In a match like this, it is important to win, but it is also important to make progress and play well," head coach
Shelton Collier says. "We were able to do this tonight. Hitting .375 as a team is impressive because Mars Hill is always one of the better defensive teams in the conference. Hopefully we will take this momentum into a very big Tusculum match tomorrow."
Lauren Hochstetler had eight kills to lead the Mars Hill attack.
Mary Kate Griffin and
Devon Felts added four kills each for the Lions.
Andie Russell handed out 14 assists, while
Rebecca Butler had 12 digs.
A Butler kill gave the Lions a 10-5 lead in the opening frame. The Bulldogs answered with eight straight points to take a 13-10 advantage. Potter had two kills and a block in the flurry, while redshirt senior
Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) contributed two aces. A pair of Stumpff kills made it 17-13, but a Wingate error cut the lead back to three. Kills from Stumpff and freshman middle blocker
Natalya King (Parker, Colo.) made it 19-14. Wingate followed a Hochstetler kill by scoring the final six points of the set. Stumpff had a block and an ace in the spurt, while a block from Potter and Cooke ended the set. The Bulldogs hit .407 in the opening frame with 15 kills in just 27 swings.
The Bulldogs used a 4-0 run to take an 8-3 lead in set two, getting a pair of Murach kills in the flurry. A Hochstetler kill cut the lead to four, but a pair of kills from freshman outside hitter
Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) made it 13-6. Another 4-0 run gave the 'Dogs a 21-11 lead. Saehler started that spurt with back-to-back kills. A Stumpff kill and two Murach aces made it 24-13, while a Saehler kill ended the set. The Bulldogs piled up 18 kills in the second frame, hitting .386.
A kill and a block from
Haley Henderson (Santa Fe, Texas), along with an
Iris Brewer (Cincinnati, Ohio) ace helped Wingate jump out to a 5-0 lead in set three. Three consecutive Griffin kills cut the lead to one, but two more Henderson kills made it 9-4. An ace from Hochstetler got the Lions to within four at 12-8, but Wingate responded with a 5-0 run to take a nine-point lead. Saehler had two kills in the spurt. A Bludau kill put the Bulldogs on top 20-10, while two more Brewer aces made it 24-11. Brewer capped the match with her fourth ace of the set.
The Bulldogs had 41 kills and just five errors in 96 attacks on the night to hit .375. Mars Hill had 20 kills and 19 errors in 99 attacks, hitting .010. Wingate piled up 12 aces, led by Brewer's four and McGowan's three. Potter's seven blocks were a match high.
Wingate is back in action Saturday, hosting Tusculum at 5 p.m.
