Charlotte, N.C----The fourth-seeded Carson-Newman University Eagles knocked off the top-seeded and 24th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs 3-1 in the semifinals of the 2019 South Atlantic Conference volleyball tournament Friday evening at Queens University. The Eagles won by scores of 25-20, 25-22, 23-25 and 27-25 improve to 24-7 overall, advancing to Saturday's championship match. The 'Dogs fall to 29-2 on the season.

KEY STATS

- Carson-Newman hit .152 with 54 kills and 28 errors
- Wingate hit .049 with 44 kills and 34 errors
- The Eagles had 16 blocks; The 'Dogs registered 10 blocks
- WU had seven of the 12 aces on the evening
- CN collected 101 digs compared to 79 from the Bulldogs

KEY BULLDOGS

- Sophie Schaff had 16 kills and five blocks to lead the Wingate attack
- Molly Lambillotte added eight kills and 18 digs
- Lynnlee Mather registered six kills and a block
- Reese Blackley also notched six kills for the 'Dogs
- Anne Abernathy contributed five kills and two blocks
- Rachel Alles had three kills, 26 assists, 16 digs and four blocks
- Shannon Kasprak added 10 assists and 10 digs to go along with two aces
- Treslyn Ortiz picked up 14 digs on the day

SET ONE

- A Kendall Cooley kill gave CN a 10-7 lead
- Megan Oldenburger's kill pushed the advantage to 14-10
- An Abernathy kill and Schaff block got the 'Dogs within two at 17-15
- Oldenburger pushed the Eagles' lead back to four with a kill to make it 21-17
- A Lambillotte kill and Abernathy block got WU back within two at 22-20
- An Erin Edwards kill and block made it 24-20; Marnie Streeter's block ended the frame

SET TWO

- Two kills from Edwards gave Carson-Newman an early 6-2 advantage
- Kills from Schaff and Alles, followed by a block from the duo got WU within one at 12-11
- Oldenburger's kill pushed the lead back to four at 18-14
- Cooley's kills put the Eagles on top 21-16
- Kills from Abernathy and Blackley sparked a 4-0 run that got the Bulldogs within one at 21-20
- Schaff's kill tied it at 22, but a Katie Parnell kill and Streeter block made it 24-22
- A kill from Edwards ended the set

SET THREE

- Back-to-back Schaff kill gave the Bulldogs an 11-9 lead
- A Pair of Mather kills pushed the advantage to four at 16-12
- A Blackley kill and two Carson-Newman errors put the 'Dogs on top 19-14
- A Lambillotte block, followed by kills from Schaff and Blackley made it 24-18
- CN scored the next five points, making it 24-23 on a kill from Edwards
- Blackley's block ended the frame and sent the match to a fourth set

SET FOUR

- A Streeter block put the Eagles on top 7-4
- An ace from Alles tied it at seven
- An Edwards kill put CN on top 14-11, while Oldenburger's kill made it 18-13
- A Lambillotte block and Schaff kill got the 'Dogs within two at 19-17
- Wingate used a 4-0 run to take a 21-20 lead behind the strong serving of Maggie Young
- Schaff and Mather each had a kill in the spurt to go along with two Young aces
- Mather's kill put the 'Dogs on top 23-22, but back-to-back Kaina Roehrkasse blocks put CN on top
- A Lambillotte kill tied it at 24, but a Streeter kill put the Eagles back on top
- Parnell and Cooley teamed for a block to end the match

UP NEXT

- Wingate will learn its postseason fate when the brackets are revealed Monday night
- The number one team in the region throughout the year, the 'Dogs are still in strong position to host the regionals
- The Bulldogs have hosted the NCAA Southeast Regionals eight times since 2008