Wingate, N.C.----The defending national champion and fifth-ranked Wheeling Jesuit University Cardinals won two of the first three sets by two points Saturday evening, winning a tight match against 25th-ranked Wingate University in NCAA Division II volleyball action in Cuddy Arena. The Cardinals won by scores of 25-23, 24-26, 25-23 and 25-11 to improve to 16-2 overall. Wingate drops its first match of the year, falling to 17-1 on the season.

Breanna Kramer had 18 kills and 17 digs to lead the Wheeling Jesuit attack. Sydney Obringer added 13 kills, while Emma Schleucher contributed 12 kills and six digs. Haley Kindall hit .364 with 11 kills for the Cardinals. Andrea Thobe had 54 assists, 10 digs, two blocks and two kills, while Kayce Krucki collected 17 digs.

Sophomore outside hitter Oakley Attaway (Orlando, Fla.) had 14 kills, eight digs and three blocks to lead the Wingate attack. Freshman middle blocker Lynnlee Mather (McDonough, Ga.) added 12 kills and five blocks, while All-American Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) contributed 11 kills, 11 digs and six blocks. Sophomore middle blocker Taylor Williams (Keedysville, Md.) hit .500 with eight kills and three blocks, while junior outside hitter Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) had eight kills and six digs. Freshman setter Rachel Alles (Tinley Park, Ill.) piled up 42 assists, eight kills and seven digs, while classmate Treslyn Ortiz (Texas City, Texas) collected 11 digs.

Wheeling Jesuit is a top national caliber team and it was rewarding to see our team elevate our game today," head coach Shelton Collier says. "We will look back at having that 23-19 lead in the third set that would have allowed us to take a 2-1 lead in the match and be disappointed we did not close it out. We had an awesome crowd and it was an exciting, high-level volleyball match."

Back-to-back Schleucher kills gave the Cardinals a 10-7 lead in set one. Kills from Alles and Williams helped Wingate make it 10-10, but a Kindall kill put WJU on top 14-12. The Bulldogs scored the next three points, taking a 15-14 advantage on a Saehler kill. A pair of Kramer kills gave the Cardinals an 18-17 lead, but kills from Bludau, Williams and Saehler gave the 'Dogs a 20-19 edge. A Kramer kill and Wingate error gave Wheeling Jesuit a 22-21 lead, but a block and a kill from Mather made it 23-23. A kill from Kindall put the Cardinals back on top, while a Wingate error ended the opening set.

Wheeling Jesuit used a 7-0 run to take a 12-5 lead in the second frame. Kindall had two kills and a block in the flurry. A block from Mather and Saehler cut the lead to six, but a Schleucher kill made it 17-10. The Bulldogs scored the next five points, with Attaway and Mather each contributing a kill and two blocks in the spurt that made it 17-15. Back-to-back kills from Obringer gave the Cardinals a 19-15 edge, but kills from Attaway, Alles and Bludau, followed by an ace from Rachel Lods (Lancaster, Calif.) tied it at 19. A Kramer kill put the Cardinals on top 23-21, but a kill and a block from Saehler tied it at 23. A Kindall kill gave WJU a 24-23 advantage, but Wingate got an Attaway kill to stave off set point. Back-to-back Wheeling Jesuit errors ended the set and tied the match 1-1.

The Bulldogs used a 3-0 run to take a 12-10 lead in set three, getting kills from Saehler and Mather. A Schleucher kill cut the lead to one, but kills from Williams and Bludau made it 16-13. Kills from Saehler and Attaway extended the lead to four, but a Kramer kill got the Cardinals back within two. A pair of Attaway kills gave the Bulldogs a 21-17 advantage. A Kindall kill and Kramer block cut the lead in half, but kills from Attaway and Alles made it 23-19. WJU had the dramatic answer, scoring the final six points of the set. Back-to-back Obringer kills got WJU within one, while a Wingate error and Schleucher kill gave the Cardinals a 24-23 lead. A block from Lauran Graves ended the frame.

A pair of Schleucher kills, along with a Thobe kill helped Wheeling Jesuit race out to an 11-6 lead in the fourth set. A kill from Alles and block from Saehler cut the lead to three, but a kill and an ace from Obringer gave the Cardinals a 14-8 advantage. Bludau trimmed the deficit to five, but WJU scored 11 of the final 13 points in the set. Kramer piled up six kills in the late flurry, while Schleucher added three kills for the Cardinals.

Wheeling Jesuit hit .283 on the match, with 59 kills and 18 errors in 145 attacks. Wingate had 61 kills and 24 errors in 167 attacks, hitting .222. Saehler led all players with six blocks, while Mather added five blocks. Each team had two aces on the night, but the Cardinals had just one service error, compared to Wingate's 10 errors.

The Bulldogs are back in action Friday, traveling to Mars Hill for a 7 p.m. match.