Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs had six players collect at least seven kills Saturday afternoon, prevailing 3-1 against visiting Catawba College in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 25-20, 26-28, 25-19 and 25-17 to improve to 22-3 overall and 14-2 in the SAC. Catawba falls to 9-10 overall and 7-7 in the conference.

All-American Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) piled up 15 kills and 18 digs to lead the Wingate attack, hitting .371 while adding four assists and two blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Oakley Attaway (Orlando, Fla.) contributed 14 kills with a .382 hitting percentage to go along with eight digs, while freshman middle blocker Lynnlee Mather (McDonough, Ga.) had 10 kills, seven blocks and two aces. Junior outside hitter Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) collected nine kills, five aces, five digs and three blocks, while sophomore Taylor Williams (Keedysville, Md.) had eight kills and three blocks. Freshman setter Rachel Alles (Tinley Park, Ill.) piled up 40 assists, 13 digs, seven kills and two blocks, while classmate Treslyn Ortiz (Texas City, Texas) collected 17 digs.

"This was a good win for us today," head coach Shelton Collier says. "Oakley and Abby had very strong offensive performances and our team stepped up at times when we need it today. Every win is big for us at this points, so it was good to get this one today."

Bri Howard and Alex Hopper had nine kills each to lead the Catawba attack, while Audrey Hoffman hit .462 with seven kills. Kimberly Hurtado had seven kills and four blocks, while McKenzie Garrison contributed five kills and 17 digs. Rachel Stanford compiled 35 assists, eight digs and four kills, while Meredith Furr piled up 34 digs.

Kills from Howard and Hopper gave Catawba a 12-9 lead in set one. An Ortiz ace and Alles kill tied it at 13, but a Hurtado kill put the Indians back on top. Another Alles kill tied it at 15, while kills from Mather and Bludau, along with a block from Williams and Bludau put the 'Dogs on top 18-15. Wingate added a 4-0 run, getting kills from Alles and Saehler to take a 23-17 advantage. A Saehler kill made it 24-19, while another Saehler kill ended the set.

Back-to-back Allison Benton kills gave Catawba a 10-5 lead in set two. A Williams kill and Bludau ace got Wingate within three, while a 5-0 run tied things at 15. Saehler had three kills in the flurry, while Ortiz added an ace. Hurtado put the Indians back on top with a kill, but another 6-0 run gave Wingate a 22-17 advantage, with Mather providing a kill and two blocks to the spurt. A Howard kill and three Wingate errors got Catawba within two, but a Bludau kill made it 24-21. Two more Bulldog errors, along with a Garrison ace tied it at 24. A kill and a block from Hopper gave the Indians a 26-25 lead, but a Saehler kill tied it. Hopper answered with another kill, while a Stanford kill ended the set and tied the match.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 14-2 lead in set three. Attaway had three kills in the early flurry, while Bludau added three aces and Mather had two kills and two blocks. A kill and a block from Garrison helped Catawba get within six at 18-12, but kills from Bludau and Saehler made it 20-13. Kills from Garrison and Stanford got the Indians to within four at 22-18, but two Mather kills made it 24-19. An Alles kill ended the frame.

Wingate got off to another fast start in set four, taking an 11-2 lead, getting four early Attaway kills along with two Saehler kills. A Garrison kill got the Indians within five at 15-10, but an Attaway kill pushed the lead back to seven at 17-10. A Williams kill and two Mather blocks made it 20-13, but kills from Garrison and Hurtado got Catawba within four at 21-17. Mather answered with a kill and an ace, while a Bludau kill made it 24-17. A Block from Williams and Bludau ended the match.

Wingate hit .230 on the day, with 63 kills and 23 errors in 174 attacks. The 63 kills are the third-highest total for the Bulldogs this year. Catawba had 44 kills and 17 errors in 147 attacks, hitting .184. Mather led all players with career-high seven blocks, while Bludau had five of Wingate's 11 aces to go along with three aces from Ortiz.

Wingate is back in action Friday, traveling to Lincoln Memorial for a 7 p.m. start.