Hickory, N.C.----The #21 Wingate University Bulldogs won an epic third set in what was a 1-1 tie at Lenoir-Rhyne University, then rolled in set four to prevail 3-1 over the Bears in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action. Wingate won by scores of 25-20, 23-25, 34-32 and 25-9 to improve to 24-1 overall and 15-0 in the SAC. The Bears fall to 14-8 overall and 10-5 in league play.

KEY STATS

- Wingate had 65 kills and 25 errors in 173 swings to hit .231
- LR had 48 kills and 29 errors in 177 attacks, hitting .107
- The Bulldogs held an 84-69 advantage in digs
- Lenoir-Rhyne had an 11-10 edge in blocks
- The Bears had six of the 10 aces
- WU had 13 or more kills in every set, with 15 or more in three of four frames
- The 'Dogs hit over .220 in three of four sets; LR never hit over .170 and hit negative in the fourth

KEY BULLDOGS

- Molly Lambillotte hit .326 with 16 kills to lead the 'Dogs, adding 13 digs
- Gabby Saye added 13 kills, five digs and three blocks
- Maggie Young hit .500 with 12 kills and four blocks
- Emily Johnson contributed 11 kills, six blocks and an ace
- Victoria Wilform chipped in with seven kills and five digs
- Shannon Kasprak piled up 52 assists, 24 digs and five kills
- Lorna Stacherski had 20 digs on the night; Maggie Mullen added 10 digs, six assists, two aces and a kill

FIRST SET

- An Emmaleigh Allen kill gave the Bears a 13-4 lead in the opening frame
- WU scored seven of the next eight, getting two Lambillotte kills along with a kill and a block from Young
- Kills from Saye and Young pulled the 'Dogs within two at 16-14
- Allen's kill put the Bears on top 18-15, but Wingate scored four straight to go on top 19-18
- Lambillotte started the spurt with a kill; Johnson capped it with an ace
- Kills from Kasprak, Lambillotte and Young put the 'Dogs on top 22-19
- Kills from Saye and Young made it 24-20; Young's kill ended the frame

SECOND SET

- Back-to-back Braelyn Faust kills gave the Bears a 15-7 lead
- The Bulldogs used a 7-0 run to pull within one
- Young had a kill and two blocks in the flurry that made it 15-14
- An Emma Clark kill and two WU errors put Lenoir-Rhyne on top 20-15
- Two Wilform kills pulled the Bulldogs within three at 21-18, but Mackenzie Hulsey's kill put LR on top 24-19
- Two Lambillotte kills and a Young kill made it 24-22, while a Saye kill pulled Wingate within one
- An Ashley Hawkins kill ended the frame and tied the match

THIRD SET

- Johnson and Wilform had two early kills each to give the 'Dogs a 6-2 edge
- Hulsey's kill tied it at 10, but a Lambillotte kill and Young block gave WU a 14-12 lead
- Two Faust kills put the Bears on top 21-18, but kills from Johnson and Lambillotte cut the lead to one
- A Clark block gave LR a 24-22 lead
- Kills from Saye and Johnson kept Wingate alive to tie it at 24, but an error gave LR a third set point
- Saye's kill tied it, but Collette Romp answered with a kill to give the Bears a fourth set point
- An LR error tied it again, but LR got to a fifth set point on another Romp kill
- An LR error and Lambillotte kill put Wingate on top 28-27
- The Bears scored the next two, taking a 29-28 lead on Allen's ace
- WU staved off a sixth set point on a Lenoir-Rhyne error, but a Hawkins kill setup another chance
- Young kept the 'Dogs alive, but Clark's kill made it 31-30 for a seventh chance at the set for LR
- Saye and Johnson answered with kills to put Wingate on top 32-31
- A Bulldog error tied it one last time at 32
- Saye's kill gave Wingate a 33-32 lead; Mullen ended it with a kill

FOURTH SET

- Kills from Lambillotte and Johnson gave Wingate a 6-4 lead in set four
- A Faust block tied it at six
- WU scored the next six, getting three Lambillotte kills to go on top 12-6
- Kills from Lambillotte and Kasprak made it 15-8
- The 'Dogs ended the match by scoring the final 10 points of the frame
- Saye started the flurry with two kills and two blocks to make it 20-9
- A Johnson kill and back-to-back Mullen aces put the 'Dogs on top 23-9
- Johnson's block made it 24-9; Saye ended the match with a kill

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back on the road next weekend for two more tough SAC matches
- The Bulldogs are at Anderson Friday at 6 p.m.
- Wingate travels to Newberry Saturday for a 3 p.m. start
- The 'Dogs wrap up the regular season at home Friday, Nov. 4 against Catawba at 7 p.m.