Salisbury, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs won their 17th straight match Thursday night, prevailing 3-1 at Catawba College in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action. Wingate won by scores of 25-21, 25-13, 21-25 and 25-19 to improve to 24-2 overall and 18-1 in the SAC. The Indians fall to 13-13 overall and 10-9 in the conference.

Senior right-side hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) had 17 kills, nine digs and five aces to lead the Wingate attack. Freshman middle blocker Anna Holmquist (Lincoln, Neb.) added a career-high 14 kills, hitting .500 on the match. Sophomore outside hitter Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) hit .375 with 12 kills, while freshman outside hitter Oakley Attaway (Belle Isle, Fla.) contributed 10 kills for the Bulldogs. Senior setter Iris Brewer (Cincinnati, Ohio) collected 52 assists, six kills and five digs, while freshman Kimberly Hovey (Raleigh, N.C.) and sophomore Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) registered 16 digs apiece.

"We are working hard to position ourselves to win the regular season championship and this was without question one of our most significant wins of the entire season," head coach Shelton Collier says. "This morning Abby Saehler, who was having an incredible season in every aspect of her game, had a season-ending knee surgery, so this impacted our team both on and off the court. Our players knew that playing a road match against a very good Catawba team would be a difficult challenge for us. Winning tonight took a very special effort by so many of our players and we are really proud of our performance tonight."

Rachel Gallup had nine kills to lead the Catawba attack, while Bri Howard added eight kills. Erin Morant and Alex Hopper contributed seven kills apiece for the Indians, while Mackenzie Garrison had six kills and 11 digs. Rachel Stanford piled up 32 assists, 15 digs and five kills on the night.

Catawba jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the opening set on a Stanford kill. Wingate used a 4-1 run to take an 11-10 advantage, getting two kills from Stumpff along with a Bludau kill. Kills from Bludau and Attaway helped the Bulldogs stretch the lead to three at 17-14. An error got Catawba within two, but the 'Dogs used a 4-0 run to go on top 21-15. Brewer had a kill and an ace in the flurry. Kills from Holmquist and Brewer made it 24-17, while a Catawba error ended the opening set.

A pair of Bludau kills, along with a Stumpff ace helped the Bulldogs jump out to a 10-6 lead in set two. A Stanford kill cut the lead to two at 11-9, but a kill and a block from Holmquist made it 14-9. Three more Holmquist kills, along with a Stumpff kill gave the Bulldogs an 18-10 advantage. A kill and two aces from Stumpff made it 23-12, while a Catawba error made it 24-13. Freshman middle blocker Phoebe Havenaar (Naperville, Ill.) ended the frame with a kill. Wingate hit .452 in the second set, collecting 16 kills against two errors in 31 swings.

Catawba used a 5-0 run to take a 10-4 lead in set three, getting two kills and a block from Garrison. Kills from Stanford and Hopper stretched the lead to seven at 13-6. Kills from Brewer and Holmquist cut the deficit to four, but a Gallup kill and Howard block made it 16-10. A pair of Stumpff kills, along with a kill from Bludau got the Bulldogs within three, but a kill and a block from Garrison made it 20-14. Kills from Howard and Hopper made it 24-17, but the 'Dogs scored the next four points, making it 24-21 on a Bludau kill. A kill from Gallup ended the set.

Kills from Stumpff and Bludau, along with a Stumpff ace helped the 'Dogs jump out to an 8-4 lead in set four. A Holmquist kill, followed by back-to-back Attaway kills pushed the lead to 12-6. A Howard kill and Stanford ace cut the lead to three at 12-9, but Wingate scored six of the next seven points to go on top by eight. Attaway had a pair of kills in the spurt, while Adams and Brewer each added an ace. A pair of Meredith Furr service aces helped Catawba get back within four at 19-15. Kills from Bludau, Brewer and Holmquist, along with a Stumpff ace made it 23-15. Four straight Wingate errors made it 23-19, but a Holmquist kill put the Bulldogs on top 24-19. Holmquist finished the match with a kill.

Wingate hit .278 on the night, with 62 kills and 20 errors in 151 attacks. Catawba had 42 kills and 19 errors in 138 attacks, hitting .167. Stumpff had five of Wingate's nine aces on the night, while Brewer led the Bulldogs with three blocks.