Wingate, N.C.----The top-seeded and 24th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs are onto the SAC Tournament championship match for the 13th time in 14 years after sweeping past fourth-seeded Carson-Newman in the 2018 SAC Tournament semifinals Friday afternoon. Wingate won by scores of 25-19, 25-17 and 25-22 to improve to 28-1 overall, advancing to Saturday's title match. Carson-Newman falls to 16-13 on the season.  

THOUGHTS FROM COACH COLLIER

"This was obviously an important and much-needed win for us today. There is always some unique tension in playing in a single-elimination, win-of-go-home match, so with a veteran team we were able to work through that stress and mange it today. We worked hard in practice to be well-prepared for this match and that preparation paid off. We are excited to be playing for a championship tomorrow."

KEY STATS

- Wingate hit .201 on the day, with 46 kills and 19 errors
- Carson-Newman had 36 kills and 22 errors, hitting .099
- CN had a slight 10-9 advantage in blocks
- Wingate had two of the three aces on the day
- The Bulldogs had 78 digs, 14 more than the Eagles
- WU had at least 15 kills in each set

KEY BULLDOGS

- First team All-SAC middle blocker Phoebe Havenaar hit .522 with 12 kills and zero errors
- Second team All-SAC outside hitter Hannah Givens added 10 kills and seven digs
- Sophie Schaff had seven kills and three blocks; Anna Holmquist added six kills and five blocks
- Taylor Williams contributed six kills; Molly Lambillotte had four kills and eight digs
- SAC Player of the Year Rachel Alles had 42 assists, 15 digs and five blocks
- Kori Adams had 26 digs

NOTES

- Wingate advances to the SAC title match for the 13th time in 14 years
- WU improves to 35-2 in the SAC Tournament since 2006
- The 'Dogs lead the SAC in kills per set, assists per set, hitting percentage, opponents' hitting percentage
- The Bulldogs are looking for their 11th SAC Tourney title in the last 13 years
- Adams is 15 digs shy of the school record
- 19th double-double of the year for Alles
- With the 2018 regular season title, WU has 22 league championships in the last 13 years
- 'Dogs improve to 50-13 against Carson-Newman and 8-1 in the SAC Tourney
- Eighth straight SAC Tournament victory over the Eagles
- WU has won 10 straight and 35 of its last 36 against CN
- Wingate moves to 373-33 overall since the start of the 2007 season

SET ONE

- Wingate had 15 kills and four errors, hitting .250
- Carson-Newman hit .130 with 14 kills and eight errors
- Givens led all players with six kills; Havenaar added three kills and three blocks
- Wingate used a 5-0 run to take a 12-8 lead, getting kills from Holmquist and Givens
- A Megan Oldenburger kill got CN within one at 12-11
- Three Havenaar kills pushed the lead back to three at 17-14
- Two Sophie Schaff kill and a Holmquist block made it 21-16
- A Givens kill and Havenaar block put the 'Dogs on top 24-19
- Havenaar and Alles teamed for a block to end the frame

SET TWO

- Wingate hit .278 with 15 kills and five errors
- Carson-Newman had 12 kills and seven errors, hitting .119
- A block and a kill from Holmquist put Wingate on top 12-9
- A kill and a block from Erin Edwards tied it at 12
- WU scored the next four, getting kills from Givens and Schaff to go on top 16-12
- A Havenaar kill and Kasey Eastland ace made it 20-15 but an Edwards kill made it 20-17
- Wingate scored the final five points to take the set
- Three straight kills from Williams made it 24-17; Holmquist's kill ended the frame

SET THREE

- The Bulldogs had 16 kills and 10 errors, hitting .111
- Carson-Newman hit .057 with 10 kills and seven errors
- WU jumped out to a 10-3 lead, getting two kills and two blocks from Havenaar
- CN scored 10 of the next 11, taking a 13-11 lead on an Oldenburger kill
- Kills from Holmquist and Alles put Wingate back on top 16-15
- Two Schaff kills and a Havenaar kill made it 20-18, but an Edwards kill tied it at 20
- An Edwards kill tied it at 22 but Wingate scored the last three
- A block and a kill from Holmquist made it 24-22; Givens ended it with a kill

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action in Saturday's SAC title match at Coker at 2 p.m.
- The Bulldogs will face the winner of the LMU vs. Anderson match
- The NCAA Division II Tournament selection show is Sunday night