Wingate, N.C.----The second-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs had their backs against the wall in the opening round of the 2021 South Atlantic Conference volleyball tournament Tuesday night, when seventh-seeded Mars Hill won the first two sets. The Bulldogs responded by winning the final three sets to win a thrilling five-set match in Cuddy Arena and advance to Friday's semifinals. Wingate won by scores of 23-25, 18-25, 25-18, 25-7 and 15-12 to improve to 23-3 overall. The Lions fall to 21-12 on the season.

KEY STATS

- Wingate hit .237 on the match; Masr Hill hit .113
- The 'Dogs piled up 72 kills against 22 errors in 211 attacks
- The Lions had 43 kills and 21 errors in 195 swings
- The Bulldogs held a 120-98 advantage in digs
- Wingate had 10 of the 17 blocks on the night
- Mars Hill held a 9-6 edge in aces
- WU had at least 12 kills in every frame, hitting .481 in the fourth and .357 in the fifth
- The 'Dogs held MHU to a -.114 hitting percentage in the fourth set

KEY BULLDOGS

- Molly Lambillotte had 16 kills, 22 digs and three blocks
- Sophie Schaff hit .289 with 14 kills and four blocks
- Quin Sutphin also had 14 kills, adding five digs and two blocks
- Maggie Young hit .375 with 13 kills and five blocks
- Reese Blackley contributed 12 kills on the night
- Shannon Kasprak had 62 assists, 24 digs, three blocks, three kills and an ace
- Maggie Mullen and Taryn Pryce had 24 digs apiece, with Mullen adding five assists and Pryce notching three aces

NOTES

- Third time this season Wingate has erased a 2-0 deficit
- Tied for the second-most kills of the year
- Most assists in a match for the 'Dogs this season, second-most digs
- This will be the 17th straight appearance in the SAC semis for the Bulldogs
- WU has won 46 straight against Mars Hill
- The Bulldogs improve to 55-7 all-time against MHU; 26-1 in Cuddy Arena
- Career-high in assists for Kasprak; fifth straight double-double and 30th of her career
- Kasprak went over 2,000 assists for her career
- Fifth straight double-double for Lambillotte and 11th of her career
- 14th double-digit kill effort of the year for Schaff, who now has 929 career kills
- Seventh time this season Young has had double-digit kills while hitting at least .375
 
FIRST SET

- Two Blackley kills gave Wingate an 11-5 lead in the opening set
- A Grace Lilly kill cut the lead to two at 12-10, but WU scored four of the next five
- Schaff had two kills in the spurt, Lambillotte and Blackley added a kill apiece
- Mars Hill used a 7-0 run to take a 19-17 advantage on a Sarah Goddard kill
- Kills from Lambillotte and Sutphin pulled WU within one at 21-20
- A Lilly kill put the Lions on top 24-21
- A Blackley kill and Schaff block made it 24-23, but a Jana Cuk kill ended the frame
- WU had 18 kills and hit .230 in the frame, getting five kills from Blackley
- Lambillotte had three kills and nine digs; Kasprak had 17 assists and six digs

SECOND SET

- A block from Sutphin and Young gave the 'Dogs an early 4-1 lead
- A block from Cuk put the Lions on top 6-5
- Wingate took an 11-10 advantage on a Kasprak kill
- MHU scored the next five, with back-to-back Lilly kills making it 15-11
- Kills from Lambillotte and Blackley pulled WU within one at 16-15
- Mars Hill countered with a 7-1 run, with two Goddard kills making it 23-16
- Back-to-back Wingate errors ended the frame
- MHU hit .081 with eight kills and five errors; WU had 13 kills and 12 errors to hit .020

THIRD SET

- Wingate scored eight of the first nine points in the third set
- Lambillotte and Young had two kills apiece in the spurt
- A Lilly ace pulled the Lions within two at 11-9
- Blackley's kill made it 13-9, but back-to-back Cuk aces pulled MHU within a point
- Kills from Young and Lambillotte put WU on top 18-15
- Lilly's kill pulled the Lions within two at 19-17, but the 'Dogs scored the next five
- Sutphin had two kills in the spurt; Blackley added a kill while Schaff had a block
- A Mars Hill error ended the third frame
- Wingate hit .267 with 16 kills and four errors
- Sutphin hit .375 with five kills; Young had four kills in 11 swings
- Kasprak piled up 16 assists and seven digs

FOURTH SET

- WU scored the first seven of the fourth set and nine of the first 10
- Schaff had two kills and a block; Kasprak added a pair of blocks
- The 'Dogs added another 6-0 run, getting three kills and a block from Lambillotte to make it 15-2
- A 4-0 Wingate run made it 22-6, with Schaff notching two kills and a block
- A Pryce ace made it 24-7; a Mars Hill error ended the frame
- WU had 13 kills and no errors in 27 swings in the set, hitting .481
- MHU had three kills and seven errors in 35 attacks, hitting -.114
- Lambillotte had six kills in nine swings, hitting .667
- Schaff hit .500 with four kills in eight swings

FIFTH SET

- Kills from Lambillotte, Kasprak and Sutphin, along with a Young block gave WU a 4-1 lead
- Goddard's kill pulled the Lions within one at 7-6
- Schaff's kill made it 8-6, but the Lions scored the next three, taking a 9-8 lead on a Jordan Schmucker ace
- A Schaff kill tied it, but a WU error gave MHU a 10-9 lead
- Lambillotte's kill tied it at 10, while back-to-back Mars Hill errors gave WU a 12-10 advantage
- Lilly's kill made it 12-11, but kills from Sutphin and Blackley made it 14-11
- Young ended the match with a kill
- Wingate had 12 kills and two errors to hit .357; MHU hit .167 with eight kills and three errors
- Sutphin hit .429 with three kills; Young and Schaff each had two kills on four swings

UP NEXT

- Wingate is onto the SAC semifinals Friday in Rock Hill
- The Bulldogs will face third-seeded Anderson at 6:30 p.m.
- The winner advances to the SAC title match Saturday at 2 p.m. in Rock Hill