Wingate, N.C.----The top-seeded and 23rd-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs are onto the SAC Tournament semifinals for the 19th straight season after sweeping eighth-seeded Mars Hill University in the quarterfinals of the 2023 South Atlantic Conference volleyball tournament in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 25-14, 25-16 and 25-22 to improve to 26-2 overall, advancing to Wednesday's SAC Tournament semifinals. Mars Hill ends its season at 14-12.

KEY STATS

- Wingate piled up 48 kills against just nine errors in 102 attacks, hitting .382
- Mars Hill had 23 kills and 15 errors in 98 swings to hit .082
- The Bulldogs held a 56-37 advantage in digs
- Wingate had seven of the 12 blocks and nine of the 15 aces
- WU hit .400 or better in each of the first two sets, with 34 kills and five errors in the two frames
- MHU hit under .060 in sets one and three, while notching less than 10 kills all three frames

KEY BULLDOGS

- Reigning SAC Player of the Week Maggie Young hit .563 with 10 kills, four blocks three digs and an ace
- Gabby Saye added 10 kills and three digs, hitting .474
- Lorna Stacherski contributed eight kills and three blocks
- Amber Rowoldt registered seven kills, 16 digs and two blocks
- Emily Johnson hit .500 with seven kills and two blocks
- Sydney Morland hit .364 with five kills
- Maya Van Heyst had 23 assists, four digs and a kill
- Katie Jamerson added 18 assists and five digs
- Maggie Mullen collected 12 digs, adding three aces and three assists

SET ONE

- Back-to-back Rowoldt kills gave Wingate an 8-4 lead
- A kill and a block from Johnson made it 11-5
- A Skylar Ogden block cut the lead to four at 14-10
- Two Young kills and a Stacherski kill put the 'Dogs on top 18-10
- Kills from Van Heyst and Morland made it 23-13; a Saye kill made it 24-14
- Johnson and Stacherski teamed for a block to end the set

SET TWO

- Kills from Rowoldt, Saye and Stacherski gave the Bulldogs a 7-3 lead
- Two Mullen aces and a Saye kill made it 11-5
- Two Stacherski kills and a gave Wingate a 14-6 advantage
- Two Taryn Pryce aces, along with kills from Stacherski and Morland made it 18-7
- A kill and a block from Saye put the 'Dogs on top 23-14; a Stacherski block made it 24-15
- Young's kill ended the frame

SET THREE

- Kills from Young and Johnson gave Wingate a 9-5 advantage
- An Addison Easter ace tied it at 15
- Kills from Morland and Rowoldt, along with a Young ace put the 'Dogs on top 19-17
- A Nikkayla Stewart kill cut the lead back to one at 20-19
- A Young block and Mullen ace capped a 3-0 run to give Wingate a 23-19 advantage
- A Saye kill made it 24-20; Stacherski's kill ended the match

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Wednesday, traveling to Rock Hill, S.C. for the SAC semifinals
- The Bulldogs will face fourth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne at 4:30 p.m.
- The winner advances to the SAC title match Thursday at 7 p.m.
- Wingate has won 13 of the last 17 SAC Tournament championships