Wingate, N.C.----The top-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs survived a tough test from eighth-seeded Tusculum College Tuesday night, but ultimately prevailed in four sets in South Atlantic Conference Tournament quarterfinal action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 26-24, 20-25, 25-17 and 25-23 to improve to 27-5 overall, advancing to Fridays semifinals. Tusculum ends its season at 12-19 overall. Wingate has now won 30 of its last 31 SAC Tournament matches.  

Junior outside hitter Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) tied a career high with 17 kills, adding eight digs and five blocks while hitting .333 on the night. All-American right-side hitter Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) contributed 16 kills and six digs, hitting .353 while sophomore outside hitter Oakley Attaway (Orlando, Fla.) had 12 kills with a .345 hitting percentage. Sophomore middle blocker Anna Holmquist (Lincoln, Nebr.) collected six kills, seven blocks and two aces, while freshman setter Rachel Alles (Tinley Park, Ill.) piled up 44 assists, seven digs and five kills. Classmate Treslyn Ortiz (Texas City, Texas) picked up 19 digs, while sophomore Kimberly Hovey (Raleigh, N.C.) added 12 digs.

"It is often tough to win these kind of matches and we really had to respond well to some of that pressure tonight," head coach Shelton Collier says. "We definitely had some tension tonight and Tusculum played extremely well, so it was a tough, hard-fought win in what was a very important SAC Tournament match for us."

Rachel Garnett and Aubrey Hawkins had 12 kills each to lead the Tusculum attack, each hitting over .400 on the match. Mariah Lewis hit .333 with 11 kills and six blocks, while Sarah Bouley contributed nine kills and eight digs. Hallie Zumack handed out 27 assists, while Megan Yopko and Sabrina Schleuger picked up 13 digs apiece.

Kills from Saehler and Holmquist gave the Bulldogs a 7-4 lead in set one, but a Hawkins kill and Shannon Murphy ace tied it 9-9. Back-to-back Garnett kills helped the Pioneers take a 13-10 lead, but back-to-back Attaway kills got the 'Dogs within a point. A Lewis kill pushed the TC lead back to three, but a Holmquist kill and Bludau ace tied it at 18. Kills from Attaway and Alles, along with a Holmquist ace put the Bulldogs on top 21-19, but a kill and a block from Lewis tied it at 23, while a Bouley kill gave the Pioneers a 24-23 advantage. Bludau answered with a kill, while a Tusculum error gave the 'Dogs a 25-24 lead. An ace from Ortiz ended the first set. Wingate hit .432 in the opening frame, with 19 kills and three errors in 37 attacks.

Kills from Garnett and Welch gave the Pioneers a 9-5 lead in set two. Kills from Bludau and Alles got the Bulldogs within two, but two Garnett kills and a Lewis ace pushed the TC lead to five at 14-9. A Welch kill made it 17-11, but two Saehler kills got Wingate within three. The Pioneers answered with kills from Garnett and Welch to take a 20-15 lead, but an Attaway kill cut the lead back to three at 21-18. Kills from Garnett and Lewis, along with a Cassie Born kill put Tusculum on top 24-19. A Hawkins kill ended the set.

Back-to-back Holmquist blocks gave Wingate a 7-5 lead in the third set. Kills from Bludau and Saehler, along with a Holmquist block pushed the lead to four at 10-6. A kill and a block from Garnett cut the lead to two, but a 4-0 Wingate run pushed the advantage to six at 18-12, capped by a Bludau kill. An Attaway kill made it 22-15, while back-to-back TC errors made it 24-15. Alles ended the frame with a kill. The Bulldogs hit .423 in set three, with 14 kills and three errors in 26 attacks.

Kills from Hawkins and Welch gave Tusculum an 8-4 lead in set four, but a Saehler kill cut the lead to two at 12-10. Back-to-back Garnett kills gave the Pioneers a 17-12 advantage. A Bludau kill, followed by back-to-back Holmquist blocks got Wingate within three, but a Lewis kill gave Tusculum a 20-16 advantage. The Bulldogs countered by scoring the next five points to take the lead. Attaway started the pivotal run with back-to-back kills, while an ace from Alles tied it at 20. A block from Saehler gave the 'Dogs a 21-20 lead, but Hawkins answered with a kill to tie it. The teams traded points, with Hawkins answering a Saehler kill with a kill of her own, making it 23-23. Saehler responded with a kill to give Wingate a one-point lead, while a Tusculum error ended the match.

The Bulldogs hit .317 on the night, with 60 kills and 14 errors in 145 attacks. Tusculum hit .236 with 56 kills and 21 errors in 148 attacks. Holmquist led all players with seven blocks, followed by Bludau's five-block effort. Holmquist had two of Wingate's six aces.

The Bulldogs are back in action Friday, facing fourth-seeded Queens in the SAC Tournament semifinals in Cuddy Arena at 6:30 p.m. Wingate will host the semifinals Friday and the championship match Saturday. Friday's first semifinal match sees second-seeded Lincoln Memorial take on third-seeded Newberry at 4 p.m. in Cuddy Arena. Saturday's championship match is scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.