VIDEO | POST-MATCH INTERVIEWS

Wingate, N.C.----Wingate University senior right-side hitter Gabby Saye tied a career high with 19 kills Friday night, leading the top-seeded and 14th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs to a 3-1 victory over fifth-seeded Flagler College in the semifinals of the 2025 NCAA Southeast Regional volleyball tournament in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 21-25, 25-21, 27-25 and 25-14 to improve to 30-1 overall, pushing the winning streak to 29 while advancing to the region title match for the 11th time since 2009. The Saints end their season at 22-13.

KEY STATS

- Wingate had 60 kills and 17 errors in 151 attacks, hitting .285
- Flagler had 59 kills and 25 errors in 154 swings to hit .221
- Each team had four aces
- The 'Dogs had a 12-10 advantage in blocks
- The Saints held a 64-61 edge in digs
- WU hit .361 with 15 kills in set two, hitting .324 with 13 kills and one error in the fourth
- Flagler hit .410 with 19 kills in the opening frame
- The Saints did not hit over .200 in each of the final three sets, hitting .098 in the fourth frame

KEY BULLDOGS

- Saye had 19 kills in 28 swings, hitting .643 on the night
- Sydney Morland hit .407 with 11 kills and nine blocks
- Emily Johnson hit .429 with 10 kills, two digs and two blocks
- Alanna Vavao added nine kills
- Abby Mas had seven kills, five blocks and two digs
- Maya Van Heyst contributed 44 assists, seven digs, four kills and four blocks
- Maddie Hoffman notched 22 digs and four assists
- Maggie Fillauer added 13 digs and an ace

SET ONE

- Kills from Johnson and Saye gave the Bulldogs an 8-6 lead
- A Katherine Rank kill tied it at eight, but Johnson's kill gave WU a 10-8 cushion
- Rank's kill capped a 4-1 run that put Flagler on top 12-11
- Morland's kill put Wingate back on top, but a Marley Middlebrooks kill sparked a 3-0 FC run to make it 15-13
- Two Vavao kills tied it at 15, but kills from Gracie Fleming and Meredith Dixon gave the Saints an 18-16 lead
- Saye's kill cut the lead to one at 19-18
- Flagler scored four of the next five, taking a 23-19 lead on a Middlebrooks kill
- Two more Middlebrooks kills gave the Saints the first set

SET TWO

- A Saye kill and Mas block gave the Bulldogs an early 5-2 lead
- A kill and a block from Morland sparked a 4-0 run that made it 9-3
- A Fleming kill trimmed the deficit to three at 11-8
- Back-to-back Saye kills, along with a Mas kill put the 'Dogs on top 14-8
- A kill and a block from Saye, along with a Morland block made it 17-9
- A Saye kill, followed by a kill and a block from Morland made it 21-11
- A Van Heyst kill made it 22-13, but FC scored the next four to cut the lead to five
- Johnson's kill gave Wingate a 24-18 advantage; Saye's kill ended the frame

SET THREE

- Two Saye kills and a Morland kill gave the 'Dogs a 5-1 lead
- Flagler used a 6-0 run to take an 11-8 lead on a Fleming block
- Kills from Johnson and Vavao cut the lead to one
- A Rank block gave the Saints a 15-11 cushion
- A Saye kill and Morland block pulled the Bulldogs back within one at 15-14
- Kills from Saye, Morland and Van Heyst tied it at 17
- A Middlebrooks kill and Clare Sheedy block gave Flagler a 20-18 lead
- A Fleming block and Middlebrooks kill stretched the lead to four at 22-18
- A Vavao kill, followed by back-to-back Johnson kills cut the lead to one at 22-21
- Fleming's kill made it 23-21, but a Johnson block cut it back to one
- Dixon's kill made it 24-22
- A Flagler service error made it 24-23, while a Mas kill tied it at 24
- Another Saints error put the 'Dogs on top 25-24
- Rank's kill tied it at 25, but Saye answered with a kill
- Mas ended the set with an emphatic block, giving the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead in the match

SET FOUR

- Two Morland kills, along with kills from Mas and Saye sparked a 4-0 run to give WU a 7-2 lead
- A Dixon block cut the lead to three at 9-6, but kills from Johnson and Saye made it 11-6
- Wingate used a 5-0 run to take an 18-9 lead, getting a Saye kill and Morland block in the spurt
- Kills from Morland and Van Heyst put the 'Dogs on top 20-10
- Kills from Morland and Vavao made it 23-13
- A Flagler error made it 24-14; Van Heyst ended the match with an ace

UP NEXT

- Wingate is back in action Saturday in the region title match at 4 p.m. in Cuddy Arena
- The defending region champs are playing in the region championship match for the 11th time since 2009
- Wingate and Anderson met twice this year, with the 'Dogs winning 3-1 at home and 3-0 on the road
- The Bulldogs have won seven region titles since 2010, including two of the last three
- The winner of the region title match is onto the national quarterfinals in Sioux Falls, S.D.