Wingate, N.C.----The second-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs hit an incredible .529 Tuesday night, rolling to a 3-0 victory over seventh-seeded Lincoln Memorial University in the quarterfinals of the 2017 South Atlantic Conference volleyball tournament in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 25-9, 25-13 and 25-14 to improve to 25-2 overall, advancing to Friday's SAC Tournament semifinals. The Bulldogs have now won 33 of their last 34 SAC Tournament matches. Lincoln Memorial ends its season at 13-16 overall. The .529 hitting percentage is the seventh-best in SAC history.  

Redshirt senior outside hitter Rachael Cecka (Plymouth, Wisc.) piled up a career-high 14 kills to lead the Wingate attack, hitting .500 on the night while adding two digs, a block and an ace. Senior outside hitter Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) needed just 12 swings and two sets to collect nine kills, hitting an incredible .750 while adding four digs and two aces. Sophomore middle blocker Phoebe Havenaar (Naperville, Ill.) contributed eight kills with a .538 hitting percentage in two sets, while junior middle blocker Anna Holmquist (Lincoln, Nebr.) hit .500 with seven kills and two blocks. Sophomore setter Rachel Alles (Tinley Park, Ill.) compiled 33 assists, five digs, five kills, two blocks and an ace, while junior libero Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) picked up a match-high 19 digs.

"Obviously we were extremely efficient with our offense tonight at every position and in addition, we went in to this match very well-prepared tactically," head coach Shelton Collier says. "Our players realize that it is very important to be on the upswing at this point of the season, so having us play so well tonight in so many aspects of our game is very rewarding.

Kiera Holland had eight kills to lead the LMU offense, hitting .312 on the night. Alicia Kessler added seven kills with a .375 hitting percentage, while Rylee Storms contributed six kills. Olivia Brock handed out 11 assists, while Erica Whiteaker led the Railsplitters with seven digs.

A kill and two aces from Bludau helped Wingate jump out to a 7-3 lead in the opening set. The Bulldogs added a 9-0 run to take a 16-4 advantage, with Holmquist and Cecka each contributed a pair of kills in the flurry, while Treslyn Ortiz (Texas City, Texas) added two aces. A kill and an ace from Cecka made it 21-7, while a pair of Bludau kills put the 'Dogs on top 24-9. Another Bludau kill ended the set. Wingate had 15 kills and one error in 25 swings, hitting .560 in the opening frame.

The Bulldogs used a 5-0 run to take a 13-7 lead in set two, with Lynnlee Mather (McDonough, Ga.) collecting a kill and a block in the spurt. A kill and a block from Holmquist highlighted another 5-0 run that made it 19-9, while kills from Alles and Mather gave Wingate a 24-13 lead. Bludau ended the set with a kill. The Bulldogs had 18 kills and two errors, hitting .485 in the second frame.

A Havenaar kill gave Wingate a 6-3 lead in set one, but a block from Storms got LMU within a point at 10-9. Kills from Alles and Havenaar pushed the lead back to four, while a 7-0 run made it 20-10. Cecka had a pair of kills in the spurt, while a kill from Alles gave the 'Dogs a 24-14 advantage. A kill from Oakley Attaway (Orlando, Fla.) ended the match. Wingate had 17 kills and two errors in 27 swings, hitting .556 in the final frame.

Wingate piled up 50 kills and just five errors in 85 attacks to hit .529. LMU had 27 kills and 10 errors in 85 attacks, hitting .200. Bludau and Ortiz led the Bulldogs with two aces each, while Alles, Holmquist and Mather led the way with two blocks apiece.

The Bulldogs are back in action Friday, taking on third-seeded Queens in the SAC Tournament semifinals, which will take place at Carson-Newman at 4 p.m.