Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs remained perfect on the year Tuesday night, rolling to a 3-0 victory over visiting Queens University in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate hit a season-high .374 on the night, winning by scores of 25-20, 25-11 and 25-17 to improve to 9-0 on the year and 4-0 in the SAC. Queens falls to 6-3 overall and 1-2 in league play.
Senior outside hitter
Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas) hit .417 with 13 kills to lead the Wingate attack, adding four digs and two aces. Junior middle blocker
Anna Holmquist (Lincoln, Nebr.) hit .533 on the night, collecting nine kills on just 15 swings while adding four blocks. Freshman right-side hitter
Anne Abernathy (Knoxville, Tenn.) hit .533 with six kills and three blocks, while senior
Rachael Cecka (Plymouth, Wisc.) and freshman
Sophie Schaff (League City, Texas) contributed four kills apiece in one set of action. Cecka hit .571 while Schaff was perfect, notching four kills in four swings. Sophomore setter
Rachel Alles (Tinley Park, Ill.) had 26 assists in two sets of action, while senior
Rachel Lods (Lancaster, Calif.) handed out 17 assists in two sets. Junior libero
Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) collected 16 digs on the night, while junior
Kimberly Hovey (Raleigh, N.C.) added 12 digs for the Bulldogs.
Taylor Henry had eight kills to lead the Queens offense, hitting .389.
Alex Thompson hit .600 with six kills and four blocks, while
Jessica Raines also had six kills for the Royals.
Rebecca Cochran added five kills, 11 digs and three blocks on the night, while
Sydney Kunz handed out 23 assists.
Two Abernathy kills, along with a block and a kill from Holmquist gave Wingate an early 11-5 lead in the first set. A Cochran kill got Queens within three, but four Bludau kills gave the 'Dogs an 18-11 advantage. A pair of Thompson kills got the Royals back within four at 22-18, but a Holmquist kill gave Wingate a 24-18 lead. A Queens service error ended the set.
A pair of Cecka kills helped Wingate take an 11-5 lead in the second set, while another Cecka kill along with an Adams ace made it 16-8. Three straight Bludau kills pushed the advantage to nine at 19-10. Wingate scored the last six points of the frame, starting with two kills and a block from Abernathy. A Holmquist kill made it 24-11, while Cecka ended the set with a kill. Wingate hit .444 in the second frame, with 14 kills and two errors in 27 swings.
A Schaff kill, followed with a block and a kill from Holmquist gave the Bulldogs an 8-4 lead in the third set. Thompson got the Royals within three with a kill, but Wingate responded with six unanswered points to take a 15-6 advantage. Bludau had two kills in the spurt, while
Oakley Attaway (Orlando, Fla.) capped the flurry with an ace. Three kills from Schaff gave Wingate a 20-10 lead, while a kill and an ace from
Hannah Givens (Greensburg, Ky.) made it 24-15.
Dunja Sobot (Backa Palanka, Serbia) ended the match with a kill.
The Bulldogs, who entered the night leading the SAC and ranking sixth nationally in hitting percentage, piled up 47 kills against 10 errors in 99 attacks to hit .374. Wingate also entered the evening rank third nationally in kills per set and assists per set. Queens had 31 kills and 15 errors in 106 attacks, hitting .151. Holmquist led the 'Dogs with her four blocks, while Adams had three of Wingate's seven aces.
The Bulldogs begin a four-match road trip Friday night, traveling to Tusculum for a 7 p.m. start.