Rock Hill, S.C.----The third-seeded Tusculum University Pioneers knocked off top-seeded and 23rd-ranked Wingate University 3-1 in the championship match of the 2023 South Atlantic Conference volleyball tournament Thursday night. Tusculum won by scores of 25-22, 25-20, 13-25 and 25-22 to improve to 22-6 overall, while the Bulldogs fall to 27-3 on the year.

KEY STATS

- Tusculum had 54 kills and 21 errors in 185 attacks, hitting .178
- Wingate had 51 kills and 22 errors in 187 swings to hit .155
- The Pioneers held an 8-7 advantage in blocks
- The 'Dogs had seven of the 10 aces on the night
- Tusculum held a 98-96 edge in digs

KEY BULLDOGS

- Gabby Saye had 17 kills, three digs and three blocks to lead the Bulldogs
- Emily Johnson hit .313 with 13 kills and three blocks
- Maggie Young added eight kills, three digs and two blocks
- Sydney Morland hit .333 with four kills
- Amber Rowoldt had four kills, 19 digs and three aces
- Alanna Vavao hit .400 with three kills
- Katie Jamerson piled up 24 assists, 27 digs, a kill and an ace
- Maya Van Heyst had 13 assists
- Maggie Mullen picked up 18 digs, adding eight assists

SET ONE

- A Johnson block gave Wingate an 11-9 lead in the opening set
- An Aly Freeland kill put Tusculum on top 12-11
- Kills from Saye and Young gave the 'Dogs a 15-13 advantage
- A Martina Foster kill tied it at 16, but a Tusculum error put WU on top 17-16
- Two Olivia Crowl kills gave the Pioneers a 19-16 lead
- Kills from Morland and Saye put Wingate back on top 20-19
- A WU error and Emiah Burrowes kill gave Tusculum a 22-20 lead
- Kills from Saye and Lorna Stacherski cut the lead to one at 23-22
- A Burrowes kill made it 24-22; a Wingate error ended the set

SET TWO

- A Burrowes kill gave the Pioneers an 8-3 lead
- Kills from Young and Johnson cut the lead to two at 8-6
- A kill and a block from Burrowes stretched the lead to six at 15-9
- A Foster kill made it 20-11
- Wingate used a 6-1 run to cut the lead to four at 22-18
- Saye capped the flurry with three straight kills
- Back-to-back Wingate errors made it 24-18; a Burrowes kill ended the set

SET THREE

- Freeland's kill gave Tusculum a 9-8 lead
- A block and a kill from Johnson gave Wingate an 11-9 advantage
- A WU error made it 11-10
- The Bulldogs reeled off 12 straight points behind the serving of Rowoldt to make it 23-10
- Johnson and Saye each had two kills and two blocks in the flurry, Rowoldt added two aces
- A Johnson kill made it 24-14; Saye and Young teamed for a block to cap the set

SET FOUR

- A Whitney Thompson kill gave Tusculum a 9-6 lead
- Saye's kill cut the lead to one at 9-8
- A Burrowes kill gave the Pioneers a 15-11 advantage
- Two Rowoldt kills cut the lead to two at 16-14
- A Thompson kill and Wingate error pushed the lead back to four at 20-16
- Johnson's kill made it 20-17, but two Burrowes kills put TU on top 23-16
- A Saye kill, two Van Heyst aces and a Young kill cut the lead to one at 23-22
- A Burrowes kill made it 24-22; a block from Crowl ended the match

UP NEXT

- Wingate will learn its postseason future Monday when the NCAA Tournament field is announced
- The bracket will be revealed Monday at 7:30 p.m. on NCAA.com
- The Bulldogs were the number one seed in the most recent NCAA Division II region rankings