Wingate, N.C.----For the ninth time in the last 11 seasons, the top-seeded and 24th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs are onto the NCAA Southeast Regional semifinals. The 'Dogs rolled to a 3-0 victory over eighth-seeded Emmanuel Thursday night in Cuddy Arena, prevailing 25-10, 25-13 and 25-18 to improve to 30-1 on the season. The Lions end their year at 23-9 overall. Wingate advances to the regional semifinals Friday night to take on Anderson at 7:30 p.m.

THOUGHTS FROM COACH COLLIER

"Winning an NCAA Tournament match is always a big deal. Tonight we were confident and well-prepared and I think our NCAA Tournament experience was a key factor in this match. We have some veteran players who have been through a lot together, so tonight they stepped up and played at a high level, which was rewarding to see. We are really looking forward to playing again tomorrow."

KEY STATS

- Wingate hit .378 with 44 kills and 10 errors
- Emmanuel hit .067 with 24 kills and 18 errors
- The Bulldogs piled up 10 aces compared to Emmanuel's one ace
- Wingate had eight blocks on the night; the Lions had three blocks
- The 'Dogs had 40 digs; 10 more than the Emmanuel
- Wingate hit over .430 in each of the first two sets
- The Lions hit .100 or less in all three frames

KEY BULLDOGS

- All-Region outside hitter Hannah Givens had nine kills in 12 swings, hitting .750
- Sophie Schaff hit .545 with seven kills in two sets of action
- All-Region middle blocker Phoebe Havenaar had seven kills and six blocks
- Anne Abernathy hit .556 with five kills
- Anna Holmquist and Taylor Williams added four kills apiece
- Region Player of the Year Rachel Alles had 31 assists, four kills and three digs
- Kori Adams had 17 digs, five aces and four assists

NOTES

- Wingate has never lost an opening-round NCAA Tournament match in Cuddy Arena
- The Bulldogs are hosting regionals for the seventh time
- Wingate is making a SAC-record 14th straight NCAA Tournament appearance
- The 'Dogs improve to 20-14 in NCAA Tournament play; all wins since 2008
- WU is looking for its fifth region title since 2010
- The Bulldogs have played in the region title match seven times in the last nine years
- Wingate improves to 375-33 overall since the start of the 2007 season

SET ONE

- The Bulldogs had 16 kills and three errors, hitting .481
- Emmanuel had six kills and five errors, hitting .043
- Three Schaff kills gave the 'Dogs an early 9-3 lead
- A block and a kill from Havenaar pushed the advantage to seven
- A block and a kill from Mia McKensey got Emmanuel within four at 13-9
- Wingate scored the next seven points, getting three kills and a block from Givens to take a 20-9 lead
- Kills from Holmquist and Schaff put the Bulldogs on top 24-10
- Hanna Knaley ended the set with a kill

SET TWO

- Wingate hit .435 with 13 kills and three errors
- The Lions had seven kills and five errors, hitting .100
- Abernathy had four kills in six swings
- Givens and Alles combined for six kills in eight swings
- The 'Dogs used an 8-0 run to take an 11-5 advantage
- Alles and Havenaar had two kills each in the flurry
- A Jessica Gray kill got Emmanuel with three at 13-10
- Back-to-back Abernathy kills pushed the WU advantage to seven at 17-10
- Another 8-0 run made it 24-12, getting four Adams aces in the spurt
- Havenaar ended the frame with a kill

SET THREE

- Wingate had 15 kills and four errors, hitting .275
- Emmanuel had 11 kills and eight errors, hitting .065
- Williams had four kills in seven swings
- Havenaar, Schaff and Molly Lambillotte added three kills each
- Adams piled up 12 digs in the frame
- Three Lambillotte kills gave Wingate an early 9-2 advantage
- Two kills from Williams made it 13-4
- The Lions used a 4-0 run, with a Julie de Blanck kill making it 15-13
- The 'Dogs scored seven of the next eight points to take a 22-14 lead
- Schaff and Havenaar had two kills apiece in the spurt
- A Holmquist kill made it 24-16; Schaff ended the match with a kill

UP NEXT

- Wingate faces fourth-seeded Anderson at 7:30 in the region semifinals
- The Bulldogs and Trojans split the regular season series in 2018
- Wingate faced AU in its first-ever match of hosting the regionals in 2008, picking up its first NCAA Tourney win
- The winner advances to Saturday night's region championship match