Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs picked up their 20th sweep of the season Saturday afternoon, downing Tusculum University 3-0 in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 26-24, 25-23 and 25-18 to improve to 26-1 overall and 19-1 in the SAC. The Pioneers fall to 13-13 overall and 10-10 in league play. Wingate guarantees at least a share of the regular season SAC title. One more win next weekend would give the 'Dogs the outright championship.

NOTES

- WU has 13 regular season SAC titles and 11 tourney championships since 2006
- Wingate has 15 regular season league titles; other 11 current SAC teams have combined for seven
- The 'Dogs have 28 total SAC titles; rest of the current league teams have 14
- NCAA-best 52-match home winning streak for the Bulldogs
- The 'Dogs have not lost a home match since 2016, when they lost to the defending national champs
- The Bulldogs have won 53 straight SAC matches in Cuddy Arena
- The Bulldogs move to 403-36 overall since the start of the 2007 season
- The 'Dogs are 235-13 in league play since 2007
- WU has won 157 of its last 163 matches in Cuddy Arena
- Wingate is 186-7 at home since the 2007 season
- The 'Dogs move to 47-6 all-time against Tusculum and 19-3 in Cuddy Arena
- The Bulldogs have won 18 straight against the Pioneers
- WU leads the nation in opponents' hitting percentage and ranks second in blocks

KEY STATS

- Wingate hit .270 with 38 kills and 11 errors on the day
- Tusculum had 42 kills and 18 errors, hitting .222
- The 'Dogs had six aces and five errors; TU had three aces and 13 errors
- The Pioneers had 42 digs compared to Wingate's 39
- The Bulldogs had six of the 11 blocks in the match
- The match featured 26 ties and seven lead changes

KEY BULLDOGS

- Sophie Schaff hit .462 with 13 kills and five blocks
- Reese Blackley added eight kills
- Anne Abernathy hit .400 with seven kills
- Lynlee Mather hit .357 with six kills
- Rachel Alles had 22 assists, five digs, two kills and two blocks
- Shannon Kasprak added 14 assists and nine digs
- Treslyn Ortiz picked up 10 digs

SET ONE

- The first set featured 10 ties and one lead change
- A kill from Emiah Burrowes gave Tusculum a 12-9 lead
- A Blackley kill and Schaff block got Wingate within one
- Kills from Burrows and Taylor Blythe put the Pioneers on top 19-14
- Gabby Gray's kill made it 22-16
- Wingate scored the next seven to take the lead
- Kills from Abernathy, Schaff and Blackley got the 'Dogs within one; Kasprak's ace tied it
- Schaff and Blackley teamed for a block to give WU its first lead of the day at 23-22
- A Burrowes kill tied it at 24
- Schaff's kill made it 25-24; Mather and Molly Lambillotte teamed for a block to end the set

SET TWO

- Two kills and a block from Blythe gave Tusculum a 13-10 lead in set two
- WU scored the next five, getting two kills and a block from Schaff to go on top 15-13
- Blythe's ace put Tusculum back on top 18-17, but Alles and Mather kills put WU on top by one
- A Burrowes kill tied it at 21
- Abernathy and Blackley answered with kills to give the Bulldogs a 24-21 advantage
- Wingate took a 2-0 lead in the match on a Tusculum service error

SET THREE

- Abernathy's kill gave the Bulldogs a 9-5 lead in the third frame
- Blythe's kill got The Pioneers within two, but Blackley and Schaff kills made it 12-8
- Wingate's 4-0 run made it 20-13, highlighted by kills from Abernathy and Emma Ahrens
- A Schaff kill and Tusculum error made it 24-15
- Schaff's kill ended the match

UP NEXT

- Wingate wraps up the regular season on the road next weekend
- The Bulldogs are at Lenoir-Rhyne Friday night at 7 p.m.
- WU is at Mars Hill Saturday at 2 p.m.
- Wingate will host a SAC Tournament quarterfinal match the following Tuesday
- The top-ranked team in the region, the 'Dogs are in position to host the NCAA regionals for the eighth time since 2008