Charlotte, N.C.----For the 14th time in 15 seasons, the Wingate University Bulldogs have won the regular season South Atlantic Conference volleyball title. Wingate wrapped up the regular season with a 3-0 victory at Queens, prevailing 31-29, 25-22 and 25-20 to move to 8-1 overall and 8-1 in SAC play. Queens falls to 5-4 overall and 5-4 in league play. Wingate now has six straight sweeps, winning each of its last 18 sets. The 'Dogs have now piled up 25 SAC championships since the 2006 season.

THOUGHTS FROM SHELTON COLLIER

"This was an important win for us for many reasons. Winning a championship and clinching the top seed in the conference were goals of ours for sure, so that is rewarding. This was a crazy year. We adapted to so many challenges, including losing three first team all-conference players from last year's championship team, so I know this team is very proud of finding a way to win another title for Wingate this spring season. We had so many players stepping up to contribute to this success over the season as well as tonight."

THOUGHTS FROM COURTNEY NIESEN

"Since our first practice in January we have talked about our goal of winning the spring season championship, and it was very rewarding for us to be able to accomplish this tonight by winning what we knew would be  tough match. It felt great that we were so well-prepared with a good game plan and we executed it really well. Our team dynamic and execution during practice is what pushes us to play great and at a high level. Our training environment is so competitive in practice it gave us a lot of confidence coming into this match. I think this past year has also let us be more appreciative for the opportunity to play together and that gives us an extra push, especially when some game opportunities were taken away. For me as a senior in a COVID year it was rewarding to join this team and be part of a championship. Tonight again showed how everyone's hard work and preparation paid off."

KEY STATS

- Wingate hit .110 for the match, Queens hit .060
- The Bulldogs had 51 kills and 30 errors; the Royals had 33 kills and 22 errors
- The 'Dogs piled up 120 digs; Queens picked up 101 digs
- The Royals had 14 blocks on the night; Wingate registered 11 blocks
- The Bulldogs had three of the five aces on the night
- WU had at least 17 kills in two of three sets; QU had 17 combined kills in the final two frames

KEY BULLDOGS

- Reese Blackley had 12 kills, six digs and two blocks
- Sophie Schaff contributed 12 kills and six blocks
- Anne Abernathy added seven kills, eight digs and three blocks
- Maggie Young also had seven kills to go along with a pair of blocks
- Molly Lambillotte had four kills and 22 digs
- Shannon Kasprak had 36 assists, 13 digs and three kills
- Courtney Niesen piled up a WU career high 34 digs, adding six assists
- Maggie Mullen and Kasey Eastland added 14 and 10 digs, respectively

FIRST SET

- Kills from Blackley and Abernathy gave the 'Dogs an early 5-2 lead
- A Kasprak kill and Marianna Warren ace made it 13-9
- A Casey Tarvin kill pulled the Royals within one at 15-14
- Quin Sutphin's kill pushed the lead back to three at 17-14
- Tarvin's kill pulled Queens back within one at 20-19
- Kills from Blackley, Sutphin and Abernathy put the 'Dogs on top 24-20
- Kills from Tarvin and Chanel Turner, along with three WU errors gave Queens a 25-24 lead
- Blackley and Abernathy answered with kills to put the Bulldogs on top 26-25
- A Tarvin kill and Lindsay Elmore block gave the Royals a 28-27 advantage
- Schaff answered with a kill and a block to give the 'Dogs a 29-28 lead
- Tarvin's kill tied it at 29
- Lambillotte answered with a kill; a block from Schaff and Blackley ended the frame

SECOND SET

- A 4-0 run highlighted by two Young kills put Wingate on top 7-4
- Tarvin's block pulled the Royals within one, but a kill and block from Lambillotte put WU back on to by four
- A block and a kill from Turner cut the lead back to one at 13-12
- Lambillotte answered with a kill and a block to give the 'Dogs a three-point lead
- Logan Witt's block pulled the Royals back within one at 15-14
- Wingate scored the next four, getting kills from Young and Niesen to take a 19-14 lead
- Kills from Blackley and Young made it 21-17
- Another Blackley kill and two Queens errors put the 'Dogs on top 24-18
- Four straight WU errors made it 24-22
- Young ended the frame with a kill

THIRD SET

- A 5-0 run, highlighted by a kill and a block from Lambillotte and Abernathy made it 9-5
- Two Brook Farley aces tied it at nine
- Wingate answered with a 4-0 run, getting a kill and two blocks from Schaff to go on top 13-9
- Three straight Schaff kills put the 'Dogs on top 16-10
- A Kasprak kill and two Young kills made it 19-12
- Warren's kill made it 21-14, but a 3-0 Queens run cut the lead to four
- Kills from Abernathy and Schaff made it 23-18
- Blackley's kill put the 'Dogs on top 24-19; a Queens error ended the match

UP NEXT

- Wingate will be the number one seed in next week's SAC Tournament
- The Bulldogs will host a quarterfinal match Tuesday night