Belmont, N.C.----The 24th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs stepped out of league play Saturday afternoon, picking up a pair of 3-0 victories against Chowan and Belmont Abbey. Wingate downed Chowan 25-20, 25-18, 25-20, while defeating Belmont Abbey 25-20, 25-15, 25-12 to move to 13-1 overall.

WINGATE 3 CHOWAN 0

KEY STATS

- Wingate had 45 kills and 10 errors to hit .304 on the match
- Chowan had 27 kills and 17 errors in 101 swings, hitting .099
- The Hawks held a 55-52 advantage in digs
- The 'Dogs notched all five blocks in the match
- Chowan held a 7-6 advantage in aces
- Wingate hit over .330 in the first two frames, with at least 13 kills in all three sets
- Chowan did not have more than 10 kills in any frame

KEY BULLDOGS

- Gabby Saye hit .429 with 10 kills and two aces to lead the WU attack
- Maggie Young had nine kills without an error, hitting .563 while adding two blocks
- Emma Ahrens contributed nine kills and 11 digs
- Maya Walker had eight kills, five digs, two blocks and an ace in her collegiate debut
- Lorna Stacherski added seven kills while hitting .333
- Clare Sheedy handed out 22 assists, adding four digs, two blocks and an ace
- Katie Jamerson had 15 assists, five digs and two kills
- Maddie Hoffman piled up 19 digs on the match

FIRST SET

- Kills from Saye and Walker put Wingate on top 13-11
- Saye's ace made it 15-12
- Chowan tied it at 15, but the 'Dogs answered with a 4-0 run
- Stacherski had two kills in the spurt, with a Jamerson kill making it 19-15
- Back-to-back Young kills made it 23-18
- Young ended the frame with a kill

SECOND SET

- A kill and an ace from Saye, along with a Walker block made it 9-4
- Kills from Stacherski and Ahrens gave the Bulldogs a 14-9 advantage
- Young and Ahrens added kills to make it 18-12
- Stacherski stretched the lead to seven with a kill to make it 22-15
- A Walker kill made it 24-17; a Chowan error ended the set

THIRD SET

- A Chloe Putnam kill gave Chowan a 12-7 lead
- Two Young kills and a Saye kill cut the lead to one at 12-11
- Putnam's ace put the Hawks on top 18-14
- A Saye kill and two Chowan errors got the 'Dogs back within one
- A Bulldog error gave the Hawks a 20-17 lead
- Wingate ended the match on an 8-0 run
- Kills from Jamerson and Ahrens tied it at 20, while a Sheedy block put WU on top
- A Taryn Pryce ace and Ahrens kill made it 24-20
- Stacherski ended the match with a kill

WINGATE 3 BELMONT ABBEY 0

KEY STATS

- Wingate had 42 kills and 12 errors in 92 attacks, hitting .326
- Belmont Abbey had 25 kills and 21 errors in 89 attacks to hit .045
- The Bulldogs held a 37-29 edge in digs
- Each team had four aces
- The 'Dogs had seven of the 12 blocks
- WU hit .476 in the first set and had 12 or more kills in all three frames
- BAC hit under .040 in the last two sets, with 12 total kills in the two frames

KEY BULLDOGS

- Saye hit .529 with 10 kills to lead the way
- Ahrens hit .450 with 10 kills and three blocks
- Young added seven kills, three aces and two blocks
- Molly Lambillotte contributed six kills, 12 digs and two blocks
- Shannon Kasprak registered 31 assists, five digs, three kills and three blocks
- Maggie Mullen picked up 13 digs

FIRST SET

- Back-to-back Ahrens kills gave Wingate an 11-6 lead
- Lambillotte's kill stretched the lead to seven at 17-10
- BAC cut the lead to two at 21-19, but a Young kill put WU on top by three
- A Saye kill and Lambillotte block made it 24-20; Saye's ace ended it

SECOND SET

- A 7-0 run put Wingate on top 8-2, with Young and Lambillotte notching two kills apiece
- Kills from Young and Saye made it 15-7
- The Crusaders trimmed it to three at 16-13, but kills from Lambillotte and Saye made it 18-13
- WU ended the frame on a 6-0 run
- Lambillotte started it with a kill, followed by back-to-back Young aces
- A Kasprak block made it 24-15; Ahrens ended it with a kill

THIRD SET

- A block and a kill from Young put the Bulldogs on top 9-4
- Wingate added a 9-0 run to take a 21-8 lead
- Ahrens had two kills and a block in the spurt; Kasprak added a kill and a block
- Kills from Stacherski and Ahrens made it 24-12; a Belmont Abbey error ended it

UP NEXT

- Wingate has three big SAC home matches next week, starting Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Lenoir-Rhyne
- The Bulldogs host Mars Hill Friday night, then welcome Tusculum to Cuddy Arena Saturday
- All three opponents next week appeared in the 2021 NCAA Tournament