Hartsville, S.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs picked up a pair of victories Saturday evening in NCAA Division II volleyball action at Coker College. Wingate won the first contest of the tri-match 3-0 against UNC Pembroke, prevailing 25-12, 25-10 and 25-15, while downing Coker 25-17, 25-11 and 25-13 to improve to 18-0 overall and 12-0 in the SAC.

Match One: #24 Wingate 3, UNC Pembroke 0

The Bulldogs hit a season-high .398, led junior Hannah Givens (Greensburg, Ky.), who compiled 10 kills with a .526 hitting percentage in two sets of action. Sophomore middle blocker Lynnlee Mather (McDonough, Ga.) hit .778 with eight kills in 10 swings to go along with three blocks, while senior Rachael Cecka (Plymouth, Wisc.), sophomore Phoebe Havenaar (Naperville, Ill.) and freshman Sophie Schaff (League City, Texas) registered five kills apiece. Senior setter Rachel Lods (Lancaster, Calif.) piled up 31 assists, six digs, six aces and three kills, while redshirt junior libero Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) picked up 14 digs.

"We knew with having an important conference match later this evening, that we would be relying on several key players to lead us this afternoon," head coach Shelton Collier says. "Hannah Givens leading us in kills was a key factor and she did that playing in only two sets. Rachel Lods set really well and each lineup we used today worked well together."

Kills from Havenaar and Cecka gave the Bulldogs a 9-4 lead in the opening set, while a kill and an ace from Havenaar extended the advantage to seven. Wingate used a 7-0 run to go on top 19-6, getting a kill and three aces from Lods in the spurt. A Havenaar kill made it 24-12, while an ace from sophomore Hanna Knaley (Florence, Ky.) ended the opening frame.

A kill and a block from Schaff gave the 'Dogs an early 4-0 lead in the second set, while kills from Givens and Cecka made it 10-4. Wingate went on a 5-0 run to take a 15-5 advantage, getting back-to-back Cecka kills to cap the flurry. A kill from Taylor Williams (Keedysville, Md.) made it 19-6, while a kill and an ace from Lods put the Bulldogs on top 24-9. A UNC Pembroke error ended the set. Wingate hit .500 in the second frame with 16 kills and just one error.

A Givens kill and two aces from Lods gave the Bulldogs a 10-7 lead in the third set, but a kill from Madelyn Ashwell got the Braves within one at 12-11. Wingate countered with a 7-0 run, getting a pair of kills from Givens to take a 19-11 lead. A kill and an ace from Schaff made it 24-14, while a Givens kill ended the match. Wingate hit .393 in the final frame with 14 kills in 28 swings.

The Bulldogs had 45 kills and just eight errors in 93 attacks to hit .398 on the match. UNCP had 20 kills and 16 errors in 85 attacks, hitting .047. Mather led all players with three blocks, while Lods collected six of Wingate's 10 aces.

Match Two: #24 Wingate 3, Coker 0

Senior outside hitter Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) had 14 kills and five digs to lead the Wingate attack, hitting .345 on the match. Junior middle blocker Anna Holmquist (Lincoln, Nebr.) hit .364 with 10 kills, four digs and three blocks, while freshman right-side hitter Anne Abernathy (Knoxville, Tenn.) contributed six kills with a .364 hitting percentage. Havenaar registered five kills in two sets of action, while sophomore setter Rachel Alles (Tinley Park, Ill.) had 25 assists, three kills and two digs in two sets. Lods added 16 assists and five digs, while Adams collected 12 digs.

"We had a late night return to campus after last night's match at Newberry and traveled again today and played well in two matches," Collier says. "Coker has been playing very well at home, so it was great for us to have this challenge tonight and continue to make progress."

A pair of Holmquist kills gave the Bulldogs a 10-6 lead in the first set, but a kill from Taylor du Bray got the Cobras within one at 12-11. A Bludau kill and Alles ace made it 15-11, but two more Wingate errors got Coker back within a point. A pair of Holmquist kills keyed a 4-0 run that put the 'Dogs on top 21-15, while kills from Abernathy and Attaway made it 24-17. A Coker error ended the set. Wingate hit .289 in the first frame, while holding Coker to a hitting percentage of -.037.

An Attaway kill and Holmquist block gave Wingate a 10-5 lead in the second frame, but a kill from Annie Mansfield got Coker within four at 11-7. The Bulldogs scored the next six points to go on top 17-7. Holmquist had a kill and two blocks in the flurry. Bludau had three kills in a 5-0 spurt that made it 22-8, while another Bludau kill made it 24-11. An Abernathy kill ended the set. The 'Dogs hit .306 while Coker hit -.028 in the frame.

A kill and a block from Cecka gave Wingate an 8-3 lead in set three, while kills from Holmquist and Cecka made it 11-4. A pair of Holmquist kills, along with a kill from Bludau gave the Bulldogs a 16-8 advantage, while two more Bludau kills made it 19-9. Back-to-back Mather kills put the 'Dogs on top 24-12, while a kill from Cecka ended the match. Wingate hit .361 in the final frame, holding the Cobras to -.069.

The Bulldogs hit .318 on the night, with 48 kills and 13 errors in 110 attacks. Coker had 13 kills and 17 errors in 92 attacks, hitting -.043. Holmquist led the 'Dogs with three blocks, while five different players registered an ace for Wingate.

The Bulldogs are back in action Friday, traveling to Anderson for a key 7 p.m. SAC match.