Greeneville, Tenn.----The 23rd-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs dropped just their fourth set of the season Saturday afternoon, but held Tusculum University to a hitting percentage of .083 in a 3-1 victory in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action. Wingate won by scores of 25-22, 25-21, 21-25 and 25-19 to improve to 18-0 overall and 11-0 in the SAC. The Pioneers fall to 8-8 overall and 6-5 in league play.

NOTES

- Wingate starts a season 17-0 for the third straight year
- The Bulldogs move to 395-35 overall since the start of the 2007 season
- The 'Dogs are 227-12 in league play since 2007
- Only fourth dropped set for Wingate; second in league play
- The Bulldogs are one of five remaining undefeated teams in Division II volleyball
- WU moves to 46-6 all-time against the Pioneers with a 19-3 record at Tusculum
- Wingate has won 13 straight at Tusculum; last loss at TU was in 2006
- The 'Dogs have won 17 straight against the Pioneers dating back to 2012
- The 'Dogs have held 13 opponents to a hitting percentage of under .100 this year
- Wingate leads the nation in opponents' hitting percentage
- WU ranks third nationally in aces, fifth in blocks, sixth in assists and seventh in kills

KEY STATS

- Wingate had 49 kills and 28 errors, hitting .128
- Tusculum had 43 kills and 29 errors, hitting .083
- WU piled up 13 blocks; Tusculum had six
- The Pioneers had eight aces while the 'Dogs collected four aces
- Wingate had 70 digs on the day; Tusculum had 69

KEY BULLDOGS

- Sophie Schaff had 15 kills, hitting .375 while adding five blocks
- Anne Abernathy added 13 kills and three blocks
- Lynnlee Mather contributed six kills and two blocks
- Molly Lambillotte and Reese Blackley added five kills apiece
- Rachel Alles piled up five kills, 16 assists, 15 digs and four blocks
- Shannon Kasprak added 23 assists and nine digs
- Treslyn Ortiz picked up 19 digs

FIRST SET

- Kills from Lambillotte and Alles gave WU a 12-9 lead
- A Taylor Blythe ace gave Limestone a 13-12 advantage
- Kills from Schaff and Lambillotte put WU on top 20-18
- Tusculum tied it at 21 on a Blythe kill
- Mather answered with a kill, while Lambillotte's ace made it 24-21
- Abernathy ended the set with a kill

SECOND SET

- Two Schaff kills and a Lambillotte kill gave Wingate an early 9-4 lead
- Gabby Gray's kill got Tusculum within three at 11-8
- Blackley's kill gave the Bulldogs a 15-11 advantage
- An Alles block pushed the lead to five, but a Carli Pigza kill made it 21-18
- An Abernathy kill and Tusculum error made it 24-20; another TU error ended the frame

THIRD SET

- Kills from Schaff and Lambillotte gave Wingate a 10-8 lead in set three
- Gray's kill put the Pioneers on top 11-10
- Tusculum used a 5-0 run, taking a 19-13 lead on a Pigza kill
- Kasprak's ace got WU within four at 19-15, but two Blythe blocks put TU on top 22-15
- A Blythe block made it 24-19; Blythe ended the frame with a kill

FOURTH SET

- A Catherine Clingan ace gave Tusculum a 6-3 lead
- Wingate answered with a 10-0 run to take a 15-7 advantage
- Alles had two kills and two blocks in the frame; Schaff added three kills
- Kills from Alles and Abernathy put the 'Dogs on top 21-12
- An Abernathy block and Ortiz ace gave Wingate a 24-18 lead; Schaff's kill ended it

UP NEXT

- Wingate continues a five-match road trip next weekend
- The 'Dogs are at LMU Friday and Carson-Newman Saturday
- The road trip ends Oct. 22 at Coker
- Wingate's next home match is Oct. 24, hosting Queens at 7 p.m.