Jefferson City, Tenn.----The 10th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs handed the Carson-Newman Eagles their first conference loss of the season Saturday night, cruising to a 3-0 road win in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action. Wingate won by scores of 25-20, 25-15 and 25-19 to improve to 15-1 overall and 8-0 in the SAC. The Bulldogs have won 45 consecutive SAC matches, while winning 128 of their last 130 league contests overall. Wingate has now won 25 consecutive matches against the Eagles. Carson-Newman falls to 11-4 overall and 7-1 in the conference.
Junior right-side hitter
Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) notched her second straight double-double, registering 11 kills and 16 digs to lead the Wingate attack, hitting .417 while adding two aces. Senior outside hitter
Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had nine kills with a .333 hitting percentage, while sophomore middle blocker
Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) compiled eight kills and four blocks, hitting .444. Senior middle blocker
Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) hit .429 with six kills on the night. Redshirt senior setter
Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) registered 32 assists, seven digs and four kills, while freshman libero
Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) picked up 10 digs.
"We were really well-prepared for what we certainly expected to be a very challenging and intense match," head coach
Shelton Collier says. "We were proud to play so well and win 3-0. Our players were well-aware this match was for first place, so we definitely elevated our level of play to reflect that. We had a number of really impressive performances. Carson-Newman has a good team and we had to play at a high level to win this convincingly today."
Lauren Santarelli had nine kills to lead the Carson-Newman attack.
Jenna Wilson added eight kills, but was held to a .150 hitting percentage, more than 250 points below her season average.
Sara Fairley contributed six kills for the Eagles.
Rachel Harper, the league leader in kills per set, was held to a season-low five kills while committing six errors, hitting -.037 on the night.
Kristen Pickett had 27 assists, while
Taylor Lowe collected 11 digs.
Wingate used a 3-0 run to take a 12-9 lead in the opening set, getting kills from Murach and senior outside hitter
Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.). A Santarelli kill cut the lead to one, but kills from Potter and Stumpff put the 'Dogs on top 16-14. A Harper kill made it 16-15, but a 4-0 run, capped by an ace from freshman
Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) made it 20-15. Kills from Murach and Stumpff gave the Bulldogs a 24-19 advantage, while another Stumpff kill capped the set. Wingate hit .394 in the opening frame, with 16 kills and three errors in 33 swings.
The Bulldogs used a 9-0 run to take a 9-2 lead in the second frame. Murach had three kills and a block in the flurry, while Saehler added two kills and a block. A Harper ace and Santarelli kill cut the lead to two at 9-7, but kills from Stumpff and Bludau pushed the lead back to four at 13-9. Wingate added a 6-1 run to take a 19-11 lead, getting a kill and two aces from Stumpff in the flurry. A Saehler kill and Potter ace capped a 4-0 run that made it 23-14, while a Murach kill made it 24-15. Stumpff capped the second set with a kill. The Bulldogs had 13 kills and two errors in the second frame, hitting .324 while holding Carson-Newman to just eight kills and an .091 hitting percentage.
Wingate used a 6-0 run to take an 11-5 lead in the third set. Saehler had a kill and a block in the spurt. Back-to-back Santarelli kills cut the lead to one at 13-12, but kills from Stumpff and Saehler helped stretch the lead to four at 16-12. Wingate added a 5-0 run to take a 22-14 lead, with Cooke providing two kills in the spurt. Kills from Harper and Pickett helped the Eagles get to within four at 23-19, but back-to-back Carson-Newman errors finished the match.
Wingate hit .330 on the night, with 43 kills and just seven errors in 109 attacks. Carson-Newman had 34 kills and 19 errors in 115 attacks, hitting .130 for the match. It is the highest hitting percentage the Eagles have allowed any opponent to hit this year. Saehler's four blocks were a match high, while Stumpff and Potter each had two aces.
Wingate is back in action Tuesday, wrapping up a five-match road trip at Coker at 7 p.m.
