Box Score  

Newberry, S.C.----The 15th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs opened the 2014 season with a 3-0 victory over King College on day one of the 2014 Newberry Invitational. The 'Dogs won by scores of 25-23, 25-19 and 25-20 to improve to 1-0 overall. The Tornado fall to 0-1 on the season.

Junior right-side hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) led the Wingate attack with 12 kills, adding three digs and an ace while hitting .323. Senior middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) added 10 kills while hitting .500 on the afternoon, while redshirt senior outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) contributed six kills and a .417 hitting percentage. Redshirt senior setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) registered 33 assists and 12 digs, while freshman libero Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) contributed 11 digs and six assists.

"It was a good win to open our season with," head coach Shelton Collier says. "We had some strong individual performances and played some high-level volleyball at times. Kori Adams played well in her debut as our libero and it was great having Cory McGowan back in teh lineup. Lexi Potter and Shelly Stumpff had really strong first matches as well."

Summer Kremer had 14 kills and eight digs to lead the King attack. Lauren Willoughby and Jordan Baty added seven kills apiece for the Tornado, while Sarah Collins had five kills. Olivia Underwood handed out 32 assists on the afternoon.

A kill from freshman outside hitter Haley Henderson (Santa Fe, Texas) along with an ace from senior defensive specialist Stephanie Tassone (Chicago, Ill.) gave the 'Dogs a 12-8 lead in the first set. A kill and an ace from Stumpff stretched the lead to five at 15-10, but Baty sparked a 4-0 king spurt with a pair of kills to cut the lead to one. Another Baty kill, along with a Wingate error gave the Tornado a 19-18 lead. Kills from McGowan and Potter put the Bulldogs back on top 22-21, but an error tied it at 22. Potter answered with a kill, while a McGowan ace made it 24-22. Potter capped the opening set with a kill.

King took a 14-12 lead in set two on an Underwood kill. The 'Dogs responded with eight straight points to take a 20-14 advantage. Stumpff had a pair of kills in the flurry, while Tassone added two aces. A Kremer kill and Underwood ace cut the lead to two at 21-19. Wingate responded with kills from Potter and McGowan to go on top 23-19, while another Potter kill would cap the second set.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 12-3 lead in the third frame, getting three early kills from McGowan. King battled back, using three consecutive Kremer kills to cut the lead to two at 15-13. A kill from freshman outside hitter Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) pushed the lead back to three, but Baty responded with a kill to make it 20-18. Stumpff answered with back-to-back kills to make it 22-18, while a pair of King errors put the 'Dogs on top by six. Stumpff finished the match with a kill.

Wingate hit .305 for the match, with 44 kills and 12 errors in 105 attacks. King had 37 kills and 15 errors in 106 attacks, hitting .208. The Bulldogs piled up eight service aces on the afternoon, led by Tassone's five.

Wingate is back in action Friday night, taking on USC Aiken at 6 p.m. in the Newberry Invitational. The Bulldogs face Belmont Abbey Saturday at 9 a.m., then wrap up the weekend against Columbus State at 3 p.m.