Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs fell into a 2-0 hole for the first time this season, then had to stave off four match points in the third set before winning the final two frames in a thrilling 3-2 victory at Mars Hill University in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Saturday afternoon. Wingate won by scores of 22-25, 17-25, 29-27, 25-21 and 15-8 to improve to 19-0 overall and 12-0 in the SAC. The Lions fall to 14-6 overall and 8-4 in league play.  

THOUGHTS FROM COACH COLLIER

"After somehow finding a way to have such an improbable comeback win, it is hard to have words to describe it. It looked highly likely that we would be losing 3-0, with Mars Hill having a swing to close out the match in the third set. Even after we somehow fought back and won that set 29-27, we fell way behind in the fourth set and again it looked like we were done. Mars Hill played some exceptional defense and significantly outplayed us in every aspect of the game for most of the match and they deserve great credit for playing at such a high level. Teams don't win often being held to a .078 hitting percentage, but once we fought back and got it to the fifth set, we elevated our play and are proud to be coming home with a very impressive and very important win."  

KEY STATS

- Wingate hit .075 with 65 kills and 46 errors
- Mars Hill had 54 kills and 24 errors, hitting .140
- WU had all seven aces in the match
- The 'Dogs hit under .100 in the first four sets; hit .316 in the fifth
- Mars Hill had 17 blocks; Wingate had 11
- The Bulldogs had127 digs, one more than the Lions  

KEY BULLDOGS

- Sophie Schaff had a career-high 20 kills, adding six blocks
- Phoebe Havenaar had 16 kills, four blocks and four digs
- Hannah Givens had 15 kills and nine digs
- Molly Lambillotte contributed six kills and a career-high 24 digs
- Rachel Alles registered 53 assists, 19 digs, seven kills, four blocks and three aces
- Kori Adams had 32 digs, three assists and two aces

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 48-7 all-time against MHU; 37th straight win
- WU is 20-5 all-time at Mars Hill
- Best start since 2011, the only undefeated regular season in program history
- 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
- 12th double-double of the year for Alles and her sixth straight
- Lowest hitting percentage of the year for WU and most errors
- Tied for a season high in kills; also had 65 in other five-set match at Catawba
- Second-most kills in a road match this year
- Wingate moves to 364-32 overall since the start of the 2007 season
- WU has won 315 of its last 335 regular season matches
- The Bulldogs are 209-11 in league play over the last 12 seasons

SET ONE

- Mars Hill had 12 kills and six errors, hitting .120
- Wingate had 14 kills and 12 errors, hitting .032
- WU used a 6-0 run to take a 12-7 lead, getting two kills each from Schaff and Givens
- Two blocks from Sally Anne Johnson tied it at 13
- Another block from Johnson gave MHU the lead; Schaff's kill gave WU a 17-16 lead
- Three straight Wingate errors gave Mars Hill a 20-17 advantage
- Back-to-back Havenaar kills tied it at 21; Elizabeth Kaeser's kill put MHU on top 23-21
- A Kelly Jakaitis kill made it 24-22; a Wingate error ended the set

SET TWO

- Mars Hill had 12 kills and two errors, hitting .270
- WU hit .041 with 12 kills and 10 errors
- Back-to-back Kills from Maddie Spurgeon gave the Lions a 13-7 lead
- Havenaar's kill got Wingate within five at 15-10
- A Spurgeon block put the Lions on top 18-10; Schaff's kill got WU back within four
- Mars Hill scored the next four, taking a 22-14 lead on a Kaeser kill
- A Johnson block made it 24-17; Sarah Goddard's block ended the frame

SET THREE

- The Bulldogs had 18 kills and 12 errors, hitting .083
- Mars Hill had 15 kills and four errors, hitting .177
- Goddard's kill gave the Lions an 11-6 lead
- Kills from Alles and Givens got the 'Dogs within two, but two WU errors made it 15-10
- Kills from Givens and Alles got the 'Dogs within one at 15-14, but Abby King's kill made it 18-14
- Wingate scored six of the next seven, getting two Schaff kills and an Alles ace to lead 20-19
- A kill and a block from Goddard gave MHU a 24-22 advantage
- A Havenaar kill and Mars Hill error tied it at 24; Spurgeon's kill made it 25-24
- Havenaar and Johnson traded kills to give the Lions a 26-25 advantage
- Kills from Havenaar and Schaff gave the 'Dogs a 27-26 lead
- Johnson's kill tied it 27 but kills from Alles and Givens ended the set

SET FOUR

- Kills from Givens and Schaff gave WU an early 4-0 lead
- King capped a 10-2 run to give the Lions a 10-6 lead
- Spurgeon's kill pushed the lead to six at 14-8
- Johnson's kill made it 16-11, but two kills and a block from Schaff got WU within one
- A Wingate error put the Lions on top 18-15 but the 'Dogs scored the next nine points
- Schaff had two kills and a block in the spurt; Kasey Eastland capped it with an ace
- Schaff ended the frame with a kill

SET FIVE

- Wingate had nine kills and two errors, hitting .333
- Mars Hill hit .000 with five kills and five errors
- A kill and two blocks from Havenaar gave WU a 3-1 lead
- Johnson's block tied it 3-3 but a Givens kill and Schaff block put WU on top 5-3
- Two Givens kills and an Alles ace, followed by a Lambillotte kill made it 9-5
- Kills from Schaff and Havenaar put the Bulldogs on top 12-7
- A block and a kill from Havenaar made it 14-7; another Havenaar kill ended the match

UP NEXT

- Wingate returns home next Tuesday, hosting Coker at 7 p.m.