Newberry, S.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs bounced back from their first loss of the season Saturday afternoon, rallying from a 1-0 deficit to prevail 3-1 at Newberry College in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action. Wingate won by scores of 24-26, 25-22, 25-14 and 25-19 to improve to 24-1 overall and 17-1 in league play. The Wolves fall to 8-17 overall and 3-15 in the SAC.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH COLLIER

"It was obviously a difficult challenge for our team to have played a tough match at Anderson last night and travel and play a noon match here at Newberry. We had to rally some energy to fight back and win here today. We have to give them credit for outworking us in several stages of the match, but we deserve credit for finding a way to grind out a hard-fought comeback win. I believe that after playing these two matches this weekend we will be in position to make some significant progress next week, which is exciting. We are pleased that our final two regular season matches will be at home this weekend and we will be fired up for Senior Night on Friday."  

KEY STATS

- Wingate hit .217 with 61 kills and 25 errors
- Newberry had 41 kills and 21 errors, hitting .136
- The Bulldogs had eight blocks, one more than the Wolves
- WU had seven aces compared to three from Newberry
- Wingate collected 75 digs on the day, with the Wolves registering 63 digs

KEY BULLDOGS

- Anne Abernathy hit .417 with a career-high 13 kills
- Phoebe Havenaar had 11 kills and five blocks
- Taylor Williams collected 11 kills, four digs and two blocks
- Anna Holmquist and Hannah Givens added 10 kills apiece
- Rachel Alles had 35 assists and 10 digs; Shannon Kasprak added 13 assists
- Kori Adams had 23 digs and two aces; Treslyn Ortiz added 10 digs and three aces

NOTES

- Wingate improves to 53-1 all-time against the Wolves
- The Bulldogs are 23-1 at Newberry
- 17th double-double of the year for Alles
- The 'Dogs dropped set one for the fifth time this year (4-1 record)
- The Bulldogs piled up a match-best 20 kills in the fourth set
- Wingate moves to 369-33 overall since the start of the 2007 season
- WU has won 320 of its last 341 regular season matches
- The Bulldogs are 214-12 in league play over the last 12 seasons

SET ONE

- Kills from Sidra Triplett and Angela Gore gave Newberry a 12-6 lead
- A Holmquist kill got the Bulldogs within three at 15-12
- A Holmquist kill and Havenaar block got WU within one at 16-15
- A Zoe Dinkins block gave Newberry a 19-17 lead
- An Abernathy kill and back-to-back aces from Adams put WU on top 21-20
- Two Williams kills and a Newberry error made it 24-21
- The Wolves ended the set on a 5-0 run, with a Lacie Wood kill ending the frame

SET TWO

- An Ortiz ace and Williams kill gave the 'Dogs an 8-4 lead
- Kills from Wood and Vanessa Blas put the Wolves on top 12-11
- WU used a 5-0 run to take an 18-14 lead, getting two kills each from Givens and Kasprak
- Newberry countered with a 5-0 run to tie it at 21, getting a kill and a block from Dinkins
- Kills from Abernathy and Williams made it 24-21; a Williams kill ended the set

SET THREE

- A kill and a block from Havenaar gave Wingate an early 10-6 advantage
- A Givens kill and Kasey Eastland ace pushed the lead to six
- A Holmquist kill and three Newberry errors made it 18-9
- A kill and a block from Givens, followed by a Holmquist ace and Havenaar kill made it 24-12
- Abernathy ended the frame with a kill

SET FOUR

- A kill and a block from Dinkins put the Wolves on top 9-6
- Kills from Williams and Havenaar, along with a Havenaar block put the 'Dogs on top13-12
- Back-to-back Abernathy kills gave the Bulldogs a 19-17 lead
- A Williams kill pushed the lead to three, but Whitlow's kill got NC within two at 21-19
- WU scored the final four points of the day, getting kills from Abernathy, Havenaar and Alles

UP NEXT

- The Bulldogs wrap up the regular season at home next weekend
- Wingate returns home next Friday to host Tusculum at 7 p.m. on Senior Night
- WU wraps up the regular season next Saturday against LMU at 2 p.m.