Hickory, N.C.----The 24th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs closed out the regular in style, rolling to their 23rd sweep of the season at Lenoir-Rhyne University in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action. Wingate won by scores of 25-16, 25-22 and 25-13 to move to 28-1 overall and 21-1 in league play. The Bears fall to 16-14 overall and 11-11 in the SAC. The 'Dogs had already clinched their 13th regular season SAC title in 14 years prior to Saturday's regular season finale.

THOUGHTS FROM LYNNLEE MATHER

"This season has been unforgettable. Today's match was an amazing cap to our regular season. We knew we had captured the conference title last night, but that didn't stop us from having a special urgency and hunger to finish the regular season against LR with a hard-fought, focused win. All season we worked on being really focused each play, each practice, each set and just being better for each other. This developed our personality and vibe as we fought for excellence, while having grace with each other, knowing everything would not go perfect all the time. This weekend was a perfect culmination of everything we worked for this season."

THOUGHTS FROM SHANNON KASPRAK

"We came into this weekend very prepared mentally and physically. Our determination really radiated with one another as we played and you could tell we left it all out on the court for each other. It feels amazing to accomplish this with our team, because we work so hard for each other in practice and each and every match. Taking one practice at a time, one point at a time, one game at a time makes this such an incredible win with an amazing team."

KEY STATS

- The Bulldogs hit .333 with 46 kills and just nine errors on the day
- Lenoir-Rhyne hit .167 with 33 kills and 15 errors
- Wingate held a 52-50 edge in digs, while each team had four blocks
- The 'Dogs registered six of the nine aces on the day

KEY BULLDOGS

- Sophie Schaff was unstoppable, piling up 16 kills in 24 swings while adding three blocks
- Rachel Alles had eight kills, 22 assists, 12 digs and an ace
- Lynnlee Mather hit .333 with seven kills and a block
- Anne Abernathy also had seven kills without committing an error, adding four digs and two blocks
- Molly Lambillotte contributed six kills and eight digs
- Shannon Kasprak added 17 assists and four digs; Treslyn Ortiz added 11 digs

FIRST SET

- Hannah Houston gave LR an early 7-5 lead
- WU scored the next four to take a 9-7 advantage on two Schaff kills
- Alannah Thomas got LR back within one at 11-10 with a kill
- The 'Dogs scored five of the next six, getting a kill and block from Abernathy to go up 17-12
- A kill and a block from Schaff, followed by a Maggie Young block made it 21-15
- Wingate closed out the frame on a 4-0 run, with three straight LR errors ending it

SECOND SET

- Taylor Prall's kill gave the Bears an 8-3 lead in set two
- Two Mather kills and a Lambillotte kill got the Bulldogs within one at 11-10
- Prall's kill pushed the Lenoir-Rhyne lead back to three at 15-12
- Wingate scored the next four, with Alles and Schaff notching two kills each to give the 'Dogs the lead
- A Helen Hamilton ace put the Bears on top 19-17
- The 'Dogs scored six of the next seven points to take a 23-20 advantage
- A kill and an ace from Alles started the spurt to tie it; Abernathy's kill put WU on top by three
- Mather's kill made it 24-21; Schaff capped the frame with a kill

THIRD SET

- Three kills and a block from Abernathy gave the Bulldogs a 6-2 lead in set three
- A Braelyn Faust kill got the Bears within two at 10-8
- WU scored the next five, getting two Lambillotte kills to stretch the lead to seven at 15-8
- An Emma Ahrens kill, followed by two Schaff kills put the 'Dogs on top 21-12
- The Bulldogs closed out the match on a 4-0 run, starting with kills from Alles and Lambillotte
- Schaff ended the match with her 16th kill of the day

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Tuesday in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals
- The Bulldogs will be the number one seed in the SAC Tourney
- The 'Dogs have won 11 of the last 13 conference tournament titles
- WU will host eighth-seeded Lincoln Memorial Tuesday at 7 p.m.
- The semifinals and finals will be held next weekend in Charlotte
- Queens University will host the semifinals and finals