Championship Central

Wingate, N.C.----The regular season South Atlantic Conference champion Wingate University Bulldogs are the number one seed in this week's SAC Volleyball Tournament, which begins Tuesday night. Wingate will host a quarterfinal match Tuesday night, welcoming eighth-seeded Catawba to Cuddy Arena for a 7 p.m. match on ESPN3. The 24th-ranked team in the most recent AVCA top 25 poll, Wingate enters postseason play at 26-1 overall after going 19-1 in SAC play to earn its 12th regular season conference title in the last 13 years. The Indians are 10-21 overall after going 6-14 in league play.

The Bulldogs are no stranger to SAC Tournament success. Wingate has won a league-best 12 tourney titles to go along with a conference-high 14 regular season championships. The other current 10 SAC schools have combined to win 15 league titles all-time. Wingate won nine straight tournament championships from 2006-2014, winning again in 2016. The Bulldogs appeared in every SAC title match from 2005-2016. Wingate is 33-2 in SAC Tournament play since 2006. The 'Dogs are 216-12 in regular season SAC matches since the start of the 2007 season, going 371-33 overall in that span.

Wingate and Catawba met twice this season, with the 'Dogs winning both meetings, starting with a 3-2 victory at Catawba. One of only two five-set matches Wingate has played this season, Taylor Williams led the way with a career-high 18 kills, hitting .343 on the night. Phoebe Havenaar hit .400 with 17 kills, with Hannah Givens adding 13 kills. Rachel Alles piled up a season-high 58 assists to go along with 17 digs, while Kori Adams added 18 digs. The Bulldogs rolled to a 3-0 win in Cuddy Arena last month, getting 16 kills from Havenaar, who hit .455 on the match. Williams added eight kills while Alles had 34 assists, 16 digs and two kills. Adams registered 20 digs, seven assists and an ace.

Wingate is 44-18 all-time against Catawba, with a 20-6 record in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs have won 23 straight against the Indians and 33 of the last 34 overall, dating back to the 2004 season. The last time the two teams met in the SAC Tournament was in 2011, when the Bulldogs prevailed 3-1 in the SAC title match to claim their sixth of nine straight SAC Tournament championships. The Bulldogs and Indians have not met in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals since 2002, when Catawba picked up a 3-1 victory.

The Bulldogs lead the SAC in kills per set, assists per set, hitting percentage and opponents' hitting percentage. Wingate ranks second nationally in winning percentage, fourth in assists per set, fifth in opponents' hitting percentage, seventh in kills per set, 14th in digs per set and 30th in hitting percentage. The Bulldogs have been at their best in Cuddy Arena, hitting .263 in 14 home matches while averaging 15.0 kills per set and holding opponents to 8.9 kills per set and a hitting percentage of .083.

Wingate has been nearly unbeatable at home over the past decade, going 140-6 in Cuddy Arena since 2009, with a 97-2 record in league play. The Bulldogs have won 33 straight home matches and 43 consecutive SAC contests in Cuddy Arena.

Wingate is the top-ranked team in the NCAA Southeast Region poll. The Bulldogs are looking to extend on their SAC-record 13-year streak of NCAA Tournament appearances. The top-ranked team in the region entering conference tournament week, Wingate is looking to earn hosting duties for the regionals for the seventh time since 2008.

An All-SAC and All-Region selection last year, Havenaar leads the 'Dogs and ranks fourth in the SAC with 3.19 kills per set, ranking third with a .333 hitting percentage. 2017 AVCA All-American Anna Holmquist is hitting a league-best .338 on the year, ranking sixth in the SAC with 3.09 kills per set. Givens is seventh in the league with 3.05 kills per set, while Williams is contributing 2.30 kills per set.

Alles ranks second in the conference with 11.37 assists per set, while ranking second on the team with 3.37 digs per set. She is also second on the team with 56 blocks and third with 24 aces, adding 89 kills. Alles leads the Bulldogs with 18 double-doubles, registering a double-double in 12 of her last 14 matches. Adams leads the Bulldogs and ranks 20th nationally with a school-record 5.85 digs per set. The senior is one of only two players in Wingate history with over 1,900 career digs.

The winner of Tuesday's Wingate-Catawba match advances to Friday's SAC Tournament semifinals to take on the winner of the Carson-Newman vs. Lenoir-Rhyne match. That semifinal contest will take place Friday at 4 p.m. on the campus of Coker College. The SAC title match is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Coker.  

WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
A comprehensive, independent and growing university, Wingate serves more than 3,600 students in North Carolina. Founded in 1896, the University offers 37 undergraduate majors as well as graduate and professional programs. Wingate is home to the Cannon College of Arts and Sciences, the Levine College of Health Sciences, the Byrum School of Business, the Thayer School of Education and the School of Sport Sciences. Wingate blends in-class exploration with out-of-class application to deliver an uncommon and life-changing educational experience.
 
In addition to a robust intramural athletics program, Wingate student athletes compete in 22 NCAA Division II sports. The University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past 12 years. Wingate is first in the 2000s among NCAA Division II and North Carolina's colleges and universities with 105 CoSIDA Academic All-America® selections. Wingate is tops among all SAC schools with 114 lifetime Academic All-America® honorees. For more information on WU athletics, go to www.wingatebulldogs.com. Current news and videos can be found at www.wingate.edu.