Box Score  

Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University freshman outside hitter Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) had a career-high 10 kills Friday night, leading the 12th-ranked Bulldogs to a 3-0 victory against visiting Brevard College in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Friday night in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 25-19, 25-16 and 25-20 to improve to 9-1 overall and 2-0 in the SAC. Brevard falls to 6-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

Bludau added six digs while hitting .429 on the night. Classmate Haley Henderson (Santa Fe, Texas) added six kills in nine swings, hitting .667 for the match. Junior right-side hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) had five kills and three digs, while senior middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) and sophomore middle blocker Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) contributed four kills each. Redshirt senior setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) handed out 21 assists, while redshirt senior Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had a team-best eight digs.

Rachel Ruble had nine kills to lead the Brevard attack, hitting .643 on the night. Fatima Gharachorloo added five kills, while Savannah Cox contributed four kills. Erin Barr had 22 assists, eight digs and four kills, while Aleksandra Vrvillo collected a match-high 16 digs.

A Cooke kill and Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) ace helped the 'Dogs jump out to a 9-5 lead in set one. Kills from Barr and Whitney DeMoss cut the lead to two at 12-10. A pair of Bludau kills stretched the lead to four at 15-11, but a block from Cox and kill from Barr got the Tornados back within one at 18-17. A Wingate error tied the set at 18, but the Bulldogs responded with a 6-0 run. Stumpff contributed a kill in the flurry, while senior middle blocker Jenna Flanigin (Aldie, Va.) capped the spurt with a kill to make it 24-18. Bludau capped the opening frame with a kill.

Kills from Bludau and freshman middle blocker Natalya King (Parker, Colo.) gave the Bulldogs an 11-6 lead in the second set. A Ruble kill cut the lead to four, but a pair of Bludau kills sparked a 4-0 Wingate run that made it 15-7. A Henderson kill and Brevard error put the 'Dogs on top 20-11. A Potter kill and Brevard error gave the Bulldogs a 24-14 advantage, while another Bludau kill finished the frame.

Kills from Stumpff and Bludau, along with a Stumpff ace put the 'Dogs on top 13-11 in the third set. An error cut the lead to one, but a Henderson kill and Rachel Truslow (Matthews, N.C.) ace made it 16-12. Kills from Stumpff and Saehler helped the Bulldogs push the lead to seven at 22-15. A pair of blocks from Cox capped a 4-0 Brevard run, making it 22-19. Stumpff answered with a kill, while an ace from freshman libero Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) put the Bulldogs on top 24-19. Bludau capped the match with her 10th kill of the night.

Wingate hit .249 on the match, with 40 kills and 15 errors in 101 attacks. Brevard had 28 kills and 16 errors in 90 attacks, hitting .133. Bludau had three of Wingate's 11 aces on the night.

The Bulldogs return to action Saturday, hosting Lenoir-Rhyne at 5 p.m.