Wingate, N.C.----Led by a near record-setting performance from junior middle blocker
Anna Holmquist (Lincoln, Nebr.), the Wingate University Bulldogs hit a season-high .397 Saturday afternoon, rolling to a 3-0 victory over visiting Lincoln Memorial University in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 25-21, 25-12 and 25-13 to improve to 15-0 overall and 10-0 in the SAC. The Railsplitters fall to 6-8 overall and 3-7 in league play.
Holmquist registered the fifth-best single-match hitting percentage in SAC history, needing only 15 swings to collect a match-high 13 kills, hitting .800 on the day. Senior outside hitter
Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) hit .357 in two sets of action, collecting seven kills while sophomore middle blocker
Phoebe Havenaar (Naperville, Ill.) hit .714 with five kills in seven swings in two sets of action. Sophomore setter
Rachel Alles (Tinley Park, Ill.) had 26 assists, seven digs, three kills and two blocks, while junior libero
Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) picked up nine digs.
"The last time we played LMU was last November, here in our gym when we won the SAC Tournament championship," head coach
Shelton Collier says. "Since then, our players and our team have made tremendous progress and it was great to see that progress today. We had a number of exceptional offensive performances today, plus our block and defense were very good."
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Lindsey Nartker kill gave the Railsplitters a 10-5 lead in the opening set, but kills from Havenaar and Holmquist got the Bulldogs within three at 11-8. A Nartker kill put LMU on top by four, but Wingate countered with a 9-0 run to take a 17-12 advantage. Holmquist had five kills in the flurry, while a Bludau blocked capped it. A kill and an ace from Bludau made it 21-15, while back-to-back
Oakley Attaway (Orlando, Fla.) kills made it 24-19.
Treslyn Ortiz (Texas City, Texas) ended the frame with an ace. Wingate hit .500 in the opening set, with 14 kills in 24 swings.
A pair of Bludau kills, along with a kill from Havenaar gave the Bulldogs a 7-3 advantage in the second set. Wingate used an 8-0 run to go on top 16-5, getting a kill and a block from freshman
Anne Abernathy (Knoxville, Tenn.) in the spurt. A kill and a block from Holmquist made it 22-8, while two Bludau kills pushed the advantage to 24-10. A Lincoln Memorial error ended the set.
Three aces from Adams helped Wingate jump out to a 7-0 lead in the third set, while two Holmquist kills made it 13-5. A kill from
Olivia Brock got LMU within four at 15-11, but two kills and a block from Abernathy sparked a 5-0 run that gave the Bulldogs a 20-11 lead. Kills from Abernathy and Alles made it 23-13, while an ace from senior
Rachel Lods (Lancaster, Calif.) made it 24-13. Another ace from Lods ended the match.
The Bulldogs had 40 kills and just nine errors in 78 attacks to hit .397 on the day after hitting .391 Friday night against Carson-Newman. LMU had 24 kills and 18 errors in 79 attacks, hitting .076. Adams led all players with three aces, while Wingate collected nine for the day. Holmquist collected a match-high four blocks.
The Bulldogs begin a five-match road trip Friday night, traveling to Newberry for a 7 p.m. start.
