Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs remained one of two unbeaten teams in NCAA Division II volleyball Friday night, prevailing 3-1 at Lenoir-Rhyne University in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action. Wingate won by scores of 25-17, 26-24, 17-25 and 25-21 to improve to 18-0 overall and 11-0 in the SAC. The Bears fall to 13-7 overall and 7-6 in league play.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH COLLIER

"It seemed like in every set we got behind by several points and had to fight our way back, which is obviously a challenge playing a good team in their gym, but it was rewarding that we could do it. We had a tough time stopping a few of their hitters, but as usual Phoebe Havenaar and Hannah Givens stepped up big for us in leading our offense. I don't believe Lenoir-Rhyne will lose to too many teams at home this year, so we will appreciate this win and move on to the next match tomorrow."

KEY STATS

- Wingate hit .266 with 60 kills and 22 errors
- Lenoir-Rhyne had 48 kills and 18 errors, hitting .227
- Wingate's 59 digs were seven more than Lenoir-Rhyne's
- Each team had seven blocks
- The Bears had nine aces; the 'Dogs collected eight aces
- The Bulldogs had 16 kills in each of the three sets they won  

KEY BULLDOGS

- Havenaar hit .368 with a season-high 18 kills, adding four blocks
- Givens hit .400 with 16 kills; Taylor Williams added 12 kills and a block
- Sophie Schaff contributed six kills and three blocks
- Rachel Alles registered 48 assists, 13 digs, four kills and four blocks
- Season-high 15 digs and three aces for Treslyn Ortiz; Kori Adams added 12 digs

NOTES

- Wingate is one of two undefeated NCAA Division II volleyball teams
- Wingate is the lone unbeaten team in the SAC and the region
- Every other team in the region has at least three losses
- WU moves to 45-11 all-time against LR
- Second straight win in Hickory after back-to-back losses
- Second straight year Wingate has started a season 18-0
- The 'Dogs are second in the nation in opponents' hitting percentage
- WU is third nationally in assists per set, fourth in kills per set and 11th in hitting percentage
- 11th double-double of the year for Alles and her fifth straight
- Second-highest road hitting percentage of the year for the Bulldogs
- Second-most kills in a road match this year
- LR is first team to hit over .200 against WU this year
- Previous highest hitting percentage allowed was .167 at LMU
- The 48 kills allowed are the second most this season
- Wingate moves to 363-32 overall since the start of the 2007 season
- WU has won 314 of its last 334 regular season matches
- The Bulldogs are 208-11 in league play over the last 12 seasons

SET ONE

- Wingate had 16 kills and four errors, hitting .364
- Lenoir-Rhyne hit .235 with 12 kills and four errors
- A block and a kill from Havenaar and a Williams kill gave WU a 7-4 lead
- Kills from Havenaar, Givens and Williams made it 15-9
- A Hannah Houston kill and Jaclyn Denny block got the Bears within four
- Wingate scored four of the next five, getting kills from Williams, Givens and Havenaar
- A Givens kill made it 24-17; a Lenoir-Rhyne error ended the frame

SET TWO

- WU hit .237 with 16 kills and seven errors
- LR hit .152 with 11 kills and six errors
- A kill and a block from Taylor Prall gave Lenoir-Rhyne an 11-6 lead
- Kills from Williams and Schaff, along with an Ortiz ace got WU within two
- Prall's kill gave the Bears a 17-13 edge, but a Givens kill got the 'Dogs within two
- Lenoir-Rhyne took a 20-16 advantage on a block from Denny
- Kills from Williams and Reese Blackley got the 'Dogs within one at 21-20
- A kill and an ace from Angelica Arroyo gave LR a 24-21 lead
- Alles teamed with Havenaar for a block, then teamed with Schaff for a block to make it 24-24
- A Lenoir-Rhyne error gave Wingate a 25-24 lead; Schaff ended the frame with a kill

SET THREE

- The Bulldogs had 12 kills and four errors, hitting .235
- The Bears had 15 kills and two errors, hitting a match-high .433
- Two kills and a block from Houston gave Lenoir-Rhyne a 4-0 lead
- Another Houston kill made it 7-2; kills from Williams and Havenaar got WU within two
- A Givens kill and Kasey Eastland ace got the 'Dogs within one at 11-10
- Back-to-back Prall kills put the Bears back on top by three at 14-11
- Back-to-back Havenaar kills tied it at 14
- LR scored the next six points, getting a kill and three aces from Houston to go up 22-15
- Back-to-back WU errors made it 24-16; Madison Asher's kill ended the frame

SET FOUR

- The Bulldogs hit .237 with 16 kills and seven errors
- Lenoir-Rhyne had 10 kills and six errors, hitting .114
- LR scored the first six points, getting two kills and an ace from Prall
- Kills from Williams and Givens along with an Alles block got the 'Dogs within one at 7-6
- Arroyo's kill made it 9-6 but the 'Dogs answered with a 5-1 run
- Schaff had a kill and a block in the spurt with Givens and Alles each adding kills
- Schaff's kill made it 13-11, but two WU errors made it 13-13
- The Bulldogs scored the next five, with three straight Havenaar kills making it 18-13
- An Arroyo kill and Ashley Hawkins ace got the Bears within one at 18-17
- Two Havenaar kills and a Givens kill put Wingate on top 21-18; WU error made it 21-19
- Back-to-back LR errors, followed by a kill from Blackley gave the 'Dogs a 24-19 lead
- Givens ended the match with a kill

UP NEXT

- The Bulldogs wrap up the weekend road trip Saturday at Mars Hill at 2 p.m.
- Wingate returns home next Tuesday, hosting Coker at 7 p.m.