Salisbury, N.C.----Less than 24 hours after hitting a season-low .075 at Queens Friday night, the Wingate University Bulldogs hit .349 Saturday evening, cruising past Catawba in 3-0 in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action. Wingate won by scores of 25-13, 25-14 and 25-16 to move to 11-0 overall and 3-0 in the SAC. Catawba falls to 2-6 overall and 1-3 in the conference.

Junior outside hitter Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) hit .333 with eight kills, while All-American Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) added eight kills, eight digs and three blocks. Senior middle blocker Tyler Smith (Aiken, S.C.) contributed seven kills and two blocks, hitting .364 while sophomore outside hitter Oakley Attaway (Orlando, Fla.) added six kills. Freshman middle blocker Lynnlee Mather (McDonough, Ga.) had five kills in six swings, hitting .833 while adding four blocks. Freshman setter Rachel Alles (Tinley Park, Ill.) had 23 assists and nine digs, while freshman libero Treslyn Ortiz (Texas City, Texas) collected seven digs.

"Our players were aware we needed to play better today than we did last night, so us hitting .349 as a team and holding Catawba to a negative hitting percentage showed we played much better offensively and defensively," head coach Shelton Collier says. "We are proud of that progress and are looking forward to our next home match Tuesday."

Evan Schultz had six kills to lead the Indians, while Audrey Hoffman added five kills. Catawba hit -.022 in the match, with just 22 kills. Rachel Stanford handed out 18 assists, while Meredith Furr collected eight digs.

Wingate raced out to a 7-1 lead in the opening set, getting three Bludau kills and two Saehler kills. A kill and a block from Smith pushed the lead to seven, but a Hoffman kill got the Indians back within four at 16-12. A Saehler kill extended the lead back to six, while Wingate followed with a 7-0 run to end the set. Smith and Attaway started the flurry with two kills each, while back-to-back Catawba errors ended the frame.

Kills from Saehler, Smith and Bludau gave the 'Dogs an 8-3 lead in set two, while two Mather kills made it 12-5. A kill and an ace from Bludau, followed by an Attaway kill made it 15-7. Catawba got within five on a Wingate error, but a Smith kill and Rachel Lods (Lancaster, Calif.) ace, followed by kills from Bludau, Smith and Taylor Williams (Keedysville, Md.) gave the Bulldogs a 22-12 lead. An ace from Ortiz made it 24-13, while a Williams kill ended the set. The 'Dogs hit .538 in the second frame, with 18 kills and four errors in 26 attacks.

Catawba raced out to a 4-1 lead in set three, but a 5-0 Wingate run put the 'Dogs on top 7-5, getting a kill and a block from Saehler. Kills from Schultz and Stanford put Catawba on top 9-7, while another Schultz kill made it 13-10. The Bulldogs countered with a 6-0 run, with a Bludau block and Mather kill putting Wingate on top 16-13. Three straight Wingate errors tied it at 16, but the 'Dogs had the emphatic response, scoring the last nine points of the set to end the match. A Bludau ace and Saehler kill made it 20-16, while a Williams kill and Catawba error made it 24-16. Bludau ended it with an ace.

Wingate ended the day with 39 kills and 10 errors in 83 attacks, hitting .349. Catawba had 22 kills and 24 errors, hitting -.022. The Indians hit below zero in the first and third set. Mather piled up a match-high four blocks, while Bludau had three of Wingate's six aces.

The Bulldogs are back in action Tuesday, hosting Newberry at 7 p.m., starting a seven-match home stand that ends Oct. 1 when Wingate hosts defending national champion Wheeling Jesuit.