St. Augustine, Fla.----The second-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs won in dramatic fashion in Thursday afternoon's NCAA Tournament opener, erasing a 2-0 deficit to defeat seventh-seeded Carson-Newman University 3-2 in the NCAA Southeast Region quarterfinals at Flagler College. Wingate won by scores of 20-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-20 and 15-10 to improve to 26-3 overall, advancing to the regional semifinals while winning a league-best 18th NCAA Tournament match all-time. Carson-Newman ends its season at 17-15.
AVCA Southeast Region Player of the Year Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) piled up a career-high 21 kills to lead the Wingate offense, adding seven digs and an ace. Senior outside hitter Rachael Cecka (Plymouth, Wisc.) added 12 kills and seven digs, while freshman right-side hitter Anne Abernathy (Knoxville, Tenn.) contributed a career-high 11 kills to go along with six digs and three aces. Junior middle blocker Anna Holmquist (Lincoln, Nebr.) hit .280 with 10 kills, while sophomore Phoebe Havenaar (Naperville, Ill.) added seven kills. Sophomore setter Rachel Alles (Tinley Park, Ill.) handed out a career-high 61 assists to go along with 19 digs, three kills and three aces, while junior libero Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) tied a career high with 31 digs.
"This was an interesting match for several reasons," head coach Shelton Collier says. "The pressure of us either having our season end being down 2-0, or winning and moving on to the semifinals was there. Us needing to bounce back from getting knocked out of the conference tournament and playing against Carson-Newman coming in with a lot of momentum and confidence from their tournament run was a reality as well. I was very pleased with how we fought all the way back and found a way to come away with a win."
Megan Oldenburger had 18 kills and 20 digs to lead the Carson-Newman offense. Marnie Streeter added 15 kills, while Alex Biro contributed eight kills and four blocks. Anna Patton handed out 48 assists to go along with nine digs and five aces, while Morgan Ballard collected 29 digs.
Three straight kills from Cecka gave Wingate a 10-4 lead in the opening set, but a block from Patton got the Eagles within three at 12-9. Kills from Bludau and Havenaar pushed the lead back to five, but Carson-Newman used a 6-0 run to take an 18-15 lead on an ace from Patton. A pair of kills from Oldenburger put the Eagles on top 23-18, while another Oldenburger kill made it 24-20. A block from Biro and Patton ended the set.
A Bludau kill and Havenaar block, along with an ace from Adams gave the Bulldogs a 14-11 lead in the second set, but a Streeter kill helped get the Eagles within one at 15-14. Oldenburger tied it at 17 with a kill, but a pair of Holmquist kills and a Cecka block gave Wingate a 20-17 advantage. Biro got Carson-Newman within one with a kill, but a kill and a block from Holmquist made it 22-19. The Eagles scored the next five points, getting a kill and a block from Streeter to take a 24-22 lead. Back-to-back Bludua kills tied it at 24, but a Streeter kill and Patton ace ended the frame.
Back-to-back kills from Bludau gave Wingate a 10-6 lead in the third set, while kills from Cecka and Holmquist made it 15-10. A Biro kill sparked a 4-0 Carson-Newman run that got the Eagles within one at 15-14, but kills from Bludau and Cecka made it 18-16. A Biro block got CN back within one, but kills from Cecka and Holmquist made it 20-17. A Carson-Newman error made it 21-18, but a Streeter kill and Wingate error made it 21-20. Bludau made it 22-20 with a kill, while back-to-back Alles kills made it 24-20. A Carson-Newman error ended the third set.
Cecka and Holmquist had two kills each to give Wingate an early 6-3 lead in the fourth set, but the Eagles scored the next four points, taking a 7-6 advantage on a Bulldog error. A Bludau kill put Wingate back on top 11-10, but a kill from Emily Harnischfeger and two Wingate errors put the Eagles on top 13-12. The 'Dogs scored the next three points, taking a 15-13 advantage on an Abernathy kill, but two more Wingate errors made it 15-15. Lynnlee Mather (McDonough, Ga.) answered with a kill, while an Abernathy ace made it 18-15. A kill from Kendall Cooley got CN within one at 20-19, but the 'Dogs scored the next four points, getting a Bludau kill, Alles ace and two Eagle errors to take a 24-19 lead. Bludau send the match to a fifth set with a kill.
Two early Bludau kills, along with kills from Mather and Abernathy gave the Bulldogs a 6-2 lead in the fifth frame. A Streeter kill got Carson-Newman within three at 8-5, but a block and a kill from Abernathy, along with a Cecka kill made it 12-5. A pair of Carson-Newman errors gave the 'Dogs a 14-8 advantage, while Bludau's 21st kill of the day ended the match.
Wingate hit .188 on the afternoon, with 67 kills and 30 errors in 197 attacks. Carson-Newman had 53 kills and 21 errors in 182 attacks, hitting .176. Alles, Havenaar and Holmquist led the Bulldogs with two blocks each, while Alles and Abernathy led the way with three aces apiece, helping Wingate collect nine aces on the day.
The Bulldogs are back in action Friday in the NCAA Southeast Region semifinals. Wingate will face the winner of the USC Aiken vs. Georgia College match Friday at 5 p.m. This marks the first time since 2014 the Bulldogs have advanced to the regional semifinals. That year, the 'Dogs won their fourth region title in five years.
