Wingate, N.C.----The Wingate University Bulldogs got a combined 25 kills from Reese Blackley and Sophie Schaff Tuesday night, sweeping past the Mars Hill University Lions in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action in Cuddy Arena. Wingate improves to 6-1 overall and 6-1 in the SAC, while the Lions fall to 4-3 overall and 4-3 in league play. The 'Dogs swept all five home matches this spring.

THOUGHTS FROM REESE BLACKLEY

"Tonight was a really challenging match. We knew that Mars Hill was going to push us and I'm really proud of how hard our team worked to get this win. There were a lot of long rallies and we stayed in there mentally and physically as a team. We have been training hard in practice and it paid off tonight. I think we can continue to learn and grow from this match as we move forward. We are looking forward to playing again together on Friday."

KEY STATS

- Wingate hit .276 on the night; the Lions hit .100
- The 'Dogs piled up 48 kills against 11 errors; MHU had 35 kills and 21 errors
- The Bulldogs registered eight of the nine blocks on the night
- Wingate had six of the seven aces
- The 'Dogs had 73 digs compared to Mars Hill's 63 digs
- WU hit over .200 in every set, hitting .406 in the final frame
- The Lions hit under .100 in the final two frames

KEY BULLDOGS

- Blackley hit .333 with 13 kills to lead the WU attack, adding two digs and two blocks
- Schaff hit .391 with 12 kills and four blocks
- Molly Lambillotte registered eight kills, 11 digs and two blocks
- Maggie Young contributed four kills and three blocks
- Shannon Kasprak had 38 assists, 12 digs, three kills and three blocks
- Courtney Niesen piled up 23 digs
- Kasey Eastland added 15 digs

FIRST SET

- A Jana Cuk kill gave the Lions an early 9-4 lead
- A Lambillotte kill and three MHU errors pulled Wingate within one
- A Sarah Goddard kill put the Lions on top 11-8
- WU scored the next four, taking a 12-11 lead on back-to-back Schaff kills
- Kills from Blackley and Anne Abernathy put the Bulldogs on top 16-13
- Kills from Abernathy and Blackley made it 19-15
- Mars Hill scored the next four, tying it at 19 on a Wingate error
- Kills from Lambillotte and Schaff gave the Bulldogs a 22-19 advantage
- Kills from Cook and Lauren Phillips tied it at 23; a WU error put MHU on top 24-23
- Kills from Kasprak and Blackley gave Wingate the lead
- Blackley answered a Mars Hill kill with a kill to make it 26-25
- Lambillotte's kill put the Bulldogs on top 28-27
- A Niesen ace ended the opening set

SECOND SET

- A Phillips kill put the Lions on top 8-3 in the second set
- Two Schaff kills, along with a block and kill from Lambillotte tied it at eight
- A kill and a block from Schaff put the 'Dogs on top 12-11
- Kills from Lorna Stacherski and Schaff gave Wingate an 18-15 advantage
- A kill from Eriana Ansley pulled the Lions back within one
- A Stacherski kill, along with back-to-back blocks from Kasprak and Schaff made it 22-17
- Lambillotte's kill made it 23-18, but a 5-0 MHU run capped by a Cook kill tied it at 23
- Blackley answered with a kill to make it 24-23
- A Young kill ended the set

THIRD SET

- Kills from Blackley and Schaff gave Wingate a 9-4 lead in the third set
- Two Blackley kills and a Young kill made it 13-7
- Kills from Stacherski and Marianna Warren pushed the lead to eight at 17-9
- Wingate added a 5-0 run, getting a kill and two aces from Warren to take a 22-10 lead
- A Niesen ace made it 24-11; Kasprak and Young teamed for a block to end it

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Friday night, traveling to UVA Wise at 7 p.m.
- The 'Dogs wrap up the regular season next Tuesday at Queens at  7 p.m.