Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University senior right-side hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) piled up career highs of 27 kills and 22 digs Friday night, leading the Bulldogs past Carson-Newman University 3-2 in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 26-24, 19-25, 20-25, 26-24 and 15-12 to improve to 22-2 overall and 16-1 in the SAC. The Bulldogs have now won 15 straight, reeling off a winning streak of at least 15 for the ninth straight year. Carson-Newman falls to 21-5 overall and 14-3 in the conference.

Stumpff had 27 kills in 68 attacks with just three errors, hitting .353 on the night. The 27 kills are the second most in program history, only one behind Rebecca Brezovec's 28-kill effort in 2005. Junior middle blocker Tyler Smith (Aiken, S.C.) had eight kills and five blocks, while All-American Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) had seven kills and five digs before leaving the match early in the third set due to injury. Freshman Oakley Attaway (Belle Isle, Fla.) added six kills and nine digs, while senior setter Iris Brewer (Cincinnati, Ohio) piled up 49 assists, 21 digs and five kills. Freshman Kimberly Hovey (Raleigh, N.C.) collected 21 digs for the Bulldogs.

"With Abby Saehler going out with an injury in set three and us being down by a large margin in set four, things were not looking good for us," head coach Shelton Collier says. "We rallied behind an amazing performance by Shelly Stumpff and somehow found a way to come away with a hard-fought win. Shelly's performance was one of the best performances ever for a Wingate volleyball player."

Molly Locke had 21 kills and 16 digs to lead the Carson-Newman attack. Maddie Borch added 16 kills and three blocks, hitting .364, while Natalie Harris hit .419 with 15 kills. Anna Patton had 49 assists, 14 digs and four kills, while Taylor Lowe piled up 27 digs.

The Eagles raced out to a 7-0 lead in set one, getting two kills from Allie Foster. Wingate scored nine of the next 10 points, taking a 9-8 lead on a Saehler kill. A Harris kill and two Bulldog errors gave the Eagles a 13-10 lead, but kills from Brewer and Saehler, along with a Carson-Newman error tied it at 15. The Eagles pushed the lead back to two at 19-17 on a Borch kill, but a kill and an ace from Stumpff put the 'Dogs on top 20-19. A Patton kill and Wingate error tied it at 22, while a Borch block put Carson-Newman on top 23-22. A Locke kill put the Eagles on top 24-23, but a Carson-Newman error and Stumpff kill gave Wingate a 25-24 advantage. Another Stumpff kill ended the first frame.

Three early Saehler kills helped the Bulldogs jump out to an 8-3 lead in set two. Back-to-back Borch kills got the Eagles within one at 10-9, while a Sara Fairley kill tied it at 13. A Saehler kill gave the Bulldogs a 14-13 advantage, but a pair of Fairley aces and a Locke kill gave Carson-Newman an 18-14 lead. Three straight Stumpff kills cut the lead to two at 20-18, but a Wingate error and Patton ace made it 22-18. A Borch kill gave Carson-Newman a 24-19 lead, while a Wingate error ended the set.

Kills from Saehler and Anna Holmquist (Lincoln, Neb.) gave the Bulldogs a 7-4 lead in set three. Kills from Locke and Harris got Carson-Newman within one at 11-10, but two Stumpff kills pushed the Wingate advantage to 15-13. The Eagles scored the next three points, taking a 16-15 lead on a kill from Locke. Kills from Harris and Borch made it 19-17, but Wingate got kills from Holmquist, Stumpff and Rachael Cecka (Plymouth, Wis.) to make it 20-20. The Eagles scored the final five points of the set, getting a Harris block, followed by back-to-back Harris kills to make it 24-20. A Wingate error ended the frame.

A pair of Locke kills helped Carson-Newman jump out to a 6-2 lead in set four. Kills from Harris and Borch put the Eagles on top 13-6, but a kill and a block from Stumpff, along with a Holmquist kill got the Bulldogs within three at 13-10. A Locke kill stretched the advantage back to four, but a Stumpff kill and CN error got Wingate within one at 16-15. A Borch kill and Megan Morris ace gave the Eagles a 20-17 lead, but a Stumpff kill got the 'Dogs within two at 21-19. A Wingate error and Locke kill put Carson-Newman on top 23-21, but a Carson-Newman error made it 23-22. The Eagles went on top 24-22 on a Borch kill, but the 'Dogs staved off a match point on Smith's kill. Another chance at match point ended on a Carson-Newman error to make it 24-24. The Bulldogs took a one-point lead on a bad set, while another Carson-Newman error gave Wingate the 26-24 win, pushing the match to a fifth set.

The Bulldogs raced out to a 4-0 lead in the final frame, getting two Stumpff kills. Another Stumpff kill, along with a Holmquist ace made it 6-1. Back-to-back Smith kills, along with a block from Smith and Brewer put the 'Dogs on top 10-3. A block from Harris got the Eagles within five at 11-6, but a pair of Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) kills made it 13-7. A Patton kill, followed by a block and a kill from Locke made it 13-10, but Stumpff's 27th kill of the night made it 14-10. A Locke kill and Wingate error made it 14-12, but a service error ended the match.

The Bulldogs hit .240 on the night, with 63 kills and 19 errors in 183 attacks. Carson-Newman had 64 kills and 21 errors in 194 attacks, hitting .222. Smith's five blocks were a match high.

Wingate is back in action Saturday, hosting Lincoln Memorial at 5 p.m.