Anderson, S.C.----The top-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs erased a 2-0 deficit Saturday afternoon, defeating the fourth-seeded Lincoln Memorial University Railsplitters 3-2 in the South Atlantic Conference Tournament semifinals on the campus of Anderson University. The nine-time defending champion Bulldogs won by scores of 21-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-16 and 15-11 to improve to 28-3 overall, advancing to their 11th consecutive SAC title match. LMU falls to 16-14 on the year.

SAC Player of the Year Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City Iowa) piled up 19 kills and 16 digs to lead the Wingate attack, hitting .327. Sophomore outside hitter Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) and freshman outside hitter Oakley Attaway (Belle Isle, Fla.) contributed 14 kills apiece, with the honorable mention all-conference selection Attaway hitting .306. All-SAC Freshman selection Anna Holmquist (Lincoln, Neb.) added 12 kills with a .346 hitting percentage, while senior setter Iris Brewer (Cincinnati, Ohio) had 53 assists, 14 digs and four kills. Second team All-SAC libero Kimberly Hovey (Raleigh, N.C.) collected 20 digs.

"This was certainly one of the most special wins ever for Wingate volleyball," head coach Shelton Collier says. "LMU was playing awesome in the first two sets and our only answer was to find a way to fight back and win the next three. It was very impressive that our players stepped up and we needed all of them to do so to get this one. We really had to earn the win today to advance to Sunday's championship match."

Kiera Holland had 17 kills and eight digs to lead the LMU attack. Liz Brock added 14 kills and six digs, while Jazzy Oates and Brooke Fleeman contributed eight kills apiece. Abby Cash had 46 assists and 18 digs, while Erica Whiteaker picked up 26 digs.

A 4-0 run gave the Bulldogs a 13-8 lead in set one, with Stumpff and Bludau notching kills in the spurt. A Holmquist kill made it 16-11, but back-to-back kills from Brock made it 16-15. Kills from Brock and Holland gave the Railsplitters a 20-19 lead, while kills from Fleeman and Holland made it 22-20. A Wingate error and Holland block gave LMU a 24-20 edge, but a Stumpff kill made it 24-21. Lincoln Memorial won the set on a Wingate error.

A Brock kill gave Lincoln Memorial an 8-5 lead in set two. Kills from Attaway and Stumpff made it 10-10, but Holland capped a 3-0 LMU spurt to make it 13-10. A kill from Tyler Smith (Aiken, S.C.) got the bulldogs within one, but a pair of Brock kills pushed the LMU lead to three at 17-14. Attaway trimmed the lead to two with a kill, but a Holland kill and three Wingate errors made it 21-15. A pair of Holland kills made it 24-19, while a Brock kill capped the second frame.

A Stumpff ace gave the Bulldogs a 10-8 lead in set three, but a Wingate error made it 10-9. The 'Dogs responded with a 5-0 run to go on top 15-9. Wingate got a kill and a block from Brewer in the flurry. A pair of Attaway kills, along with a Holmquist ace made it 18-12. An Oates kill got LMU within four, but a Stumpff kill put Wingate on top 21-15. The Bulldogs would then score the last four points of the frame, getting a Bludau kill and three LMU errors to claim the set.

Kills from Stumpff and Bludau gave the Bulldogs a 9-5 lead in set four. An error cut the lead to three, but Wingate scored the next seven points to take a commanding lead. Bludau had a kill and two aces in the spurt which made it 16-6. A Fleeman kill got LMU within eight, but a Stumpff kill and Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) ace put the lead back in double figures. A Holmquist kill and Lincoln Memorial error made it 24-16, while another Holmquist kill ended the set, sending the match to a fifth frame.

Back-to-back Bludau kills, along with a Holmquist kill gave the 'Dogs an early 5-2 lead in set five. Stumpff followed with an ace to push the lead to four, but a pair of Holland kills got Lincoln Memorial within one at 6-5. A kill from Cash made it 8-8, but Attaway and Stumpff responded with kills to put Wingate on top 10-8. Danielle Ged answered with a kill to make it 10-9, but the Bulldogs answered with three straight points, getting a Stumpff kill and two LMU errors to take a 13-9 advantage. A Bludau kill made it 14-10, while a Stumpff kill ended the match.

Wingate hit .253 on the day, with 65 kills and 18 errors in 186 attacks. LMU had 56 kills and 23 errors in 166 attacks, hitting .199. The Railsplitters hit .522 in set two, but the Bulldogs held LMU below .100 in sets three and four. Bludau had three of Wingate's eight aces, while Stumpff added two more aces. Holmquist led the Bulldogs with three blocks.

Wingate is back in action Sunday, playing in its 11th straight SAC title match at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs will face the winner of the Carson-Newman vs. Lenoir-Rhyne match. Wingate will be looking to win a 10th consecutive SAC Tournament title.