Wingate, N.C.----The top-seeded and 12th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs swept the eighth-seeded Erskine College Flying Fleet Thursday night in Cuddy Arena in the NCAA Southeast Regional volleyball tournament. Wingate won by scores of 25-19, 25-14 and 25-17 to improve to 32-2 overall, advancing to the regional semifinals for the seventh consecutive year. Erskine ends its season at 21-9 overall.

Senior outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) had 12 kills and nine digs, hitting .522 on the night. Senior middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) added eight kills with a .348 hitting percentage, while junior right-side hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) had seven kills and 10 digs. Redshirt senior setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) handed out 33 assists, while freshman libero Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) collected 13 digs.

"Our offense was very strong tonight, which is important to establish as we continue through the tournament," head coach Shelton Collier says. "As a team we were well-prepared for Erskine, and we were totally focused on winning this match tonight. Erskine played really well at times tonight, so we are happy to be moving onto the semifinals."

Kelly Sullivan had eight kills to lead the Erskine attack. Caitlin Bullock added seven kills and nine digs, while Kristen Dodge had 22 assists, 15 digs and six kills. Kendall Kirk collected 10 digs for the Flying Fleet.

Wingate jumped out to a 9-4 lead in the opening set. Murach and Stumpff had two kills each in the early flurry. Erskine battled back, tying it at 11 on back-to-back Sullivan kills. Kills from Potter and Murach put the 'Dogs on top by two, but a Sade Mendez kill made it 14-13. Kills from Murach and Stumpff, along with a Stumpff block made it 19-14. Back-to-back Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) kills made it 23-18, while an Erskine error made it 24-18. Another error ended the opening set.

A pair of Murach kills gave Wingate a 9-5 lead in set two. Kills from Dodge and Marissa Greenough cut the lead to two at 10-8, while a Wingate error made it 10-9. Three consecutive Flying Fleet errors gave the Bulldogs a 13-9 advantage. A Sullivan kill helped trim the lead to two at 13-11, but a 4-0 Wingate run gave the Bulldogs a six-point lead. Senior outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had three kills in the flurry. A Dodge kill cut the lead to four at 18-14, but Wingate answered by closing the set on a 7-0 run. Freshman outside hitter Haley Henderson (Santa Fe, Texas) had three kills in the spurt, while a Potter ace ended the set.

Back-to-back Potter kills gave Wingate an 11-7 lead in set three. Kills from Potter and Murach made it 14-8, while another Murach kill, along with two Erskine errors made it 18-10. Blocks from Stumpff and Saehler made it 22-14, while a Bludau kill and Potter block made it 24-15. Bludau capped the match with a kill. The Bulldogs had 13 kills and just two errors in the final frame, hitting .367.

Wingate hit .310 on the night, with 43 kills and seven errors in 116 attacks. Erskine had 31 kills and 21 errors in 120 attacks, hitting .083. Stumpff and Saehler led Wingate with three blocks each, while Potter had two of Wingate's three aces.

The Bulldogs are back in action Friday night, taking on fourth-seeded GRU Augusta at 7:30 p.m. in the NCAA regional semifinals.