Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs hit .385 on the match Thursday night, rolling to a 3-0 victory over visiting Lenoir-Rhyne University in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 25-10, 25-11 and 25-18 to improve to 21-2 overall and 15-2 in the SAC. The Bears fall to 10-12 overall and 6-10 in league play.

Senior Rachael Cecka (Plymouth, Wisc.) hit .389 with 10 kills, five digs, two aces and two blocks to lead the Wingate attack. Senior Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) added 10 kills in two sets of action, hitting .348 while sophomore Phoebe Havenaar (Naperville, Ill.) hit .615 with eight kills in two sets. Junior Anna Holmquist (Lincoln, Nebr.) hit .438 with seven kills and two blocks, while freshman Anne Abernathy (Knoxville, Tenn.) added five kills and six digs, hitting .333. Sophomore Rachel Alles (Tinley Park, Ill.) handed out 41 assists to go along with six digs and four kills, while junior Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) picked up 21 digs.

"At this points of the season, we really wanted to play at a high level and show we are on the upswing as we head down the final stretch," head coach Shelton Collier says. "We played really well in every aspect of our game tonight and it showed much of the progress we've been making. In looking at the stats, it seems that every player played well, with Rachel Alles setting extremely well."

Three early Abernathy kills helped Wingate jump out to a 10-3 lead in the opening set. A Cecka kill made it 14-6, while another Cecka kill and two Cecka aces sparked a 6-0 run to make it 20-8. A kill and a block from Havenaar, followed by another Havenaar kill made it 24-10, while Havenaar capped the set with another kill. The 'Dogs hit .538 in set one, with 16 kills and two errors in 26 swings.

Four early Bludau kills gave Wingate a 7-1 lead in set two, while an 8-0 run made it 17-4. Holmquist contributed two kills and two blocks to the flurry. Back-to-back Holmquist kills, followed by kills from Bludau and Alles made it 22-8. A Bludau kill made it 24-9, while a kill from Dunja Sobot (Backa Palanka, Serbia) ended the set. Wingate hit .385 in the second frame, with 18 kills in 39 swings.

A pair of Oakley Attaway (Orlando, Fla.) kills gave Wingate a 12-7 lead in set three. Kills from Cecka and Lynnlee Mather (McDonough, Ga.) pushed the advantage to seven, while kills from Cecka and Alles made it 20-12. Kills from Attaway and Mather put the 'Dogs on top 24-14, while another Attaway kill ended the match.

The Bulldogs had 52 kills and 12 errors in 104 attacks on the night, hitting .385. Lenoir-Rhyne had 19 kills and 10 errors in 93 attacks, hitting .097. Holmquist and Cecka led the way with two blocks each, while Cecka had two of the three Bulldog aces on the night.

Wingate is back in action Saturday, hosting Catawba at 2 p.m. on Senior Day.