GREENEVILLE, Tenn. --- Wingate University improved to 11-0 in the South Atlantic Conference with a 3-1 victory over Tusculum College in SAC volleyball action Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Arena. Set scores were 25-14, 25-27, 25-20 and 25-21.
The 24th-ranked Bulldogs (19-1, 11-0 SAC) were led by 18 kills from Abby Saehler and 17 kills by Katie Bludau, while Rachel Alles had 46 assists and 16 digs for Wingate. As a team, the Bulldogs hit .262 (64 kills-21 errors-164 attacks) and registered nine service aces as a team.
The Pioneers (8-8, 5-7 SAC) received team highs of 12 kills and 16 digs from Sarah Bouley, with Laryssa Welch adding 10 kills and a .450 hitting percentage. Hallie Zumack paced the Pioneers with 21 assists, while Shannon Murphy had a double-double with 11 assists and 11 digs for Tusculum.
Wingate captured the first set 25-14 as Bludau led the Bulldogs with five kills on eight attacks. The Bulldogs led 17-12 when Rachel Lods served seven straight points to extend the Wingate lead to 24-12. As a team, Wingate hit .400 in the first set.
The second set was a thrilling back-and-forth battle that saw 19 ties, eight lead changes and each team salvage a set point against them. Wingate pulled to a 14-11 lead midway through the set, but the Pioneers came back with four unanswered points to go on top 15-14. Tusculum gained some breathing room with back-to-back kills from Mariah Lewis and Bouley to go ahead 21-19, but Wingate would come back to tie the score at 22, 23, 24 and 25.
Welch's third kill of the set put the Pioneers on top 26-25, and a kill by Zumack closed out the set. Bouley had six kills and five digs in the set for the Pioneers, who hit .300 as a team in the set. Saehler led the Bulldogs with five kills on 16 attacks.
In the third set, Wingate took leads of 11-6 and 14-9, but Tusculum came back to level the score at 19-19 following a kill from Bouley and two attack errors from the Bulldogs. However, the Bulldogs scored six of the final seven points on two kills from Oakley Attaway and one each by Saehler, Taylor Williams and Bludau to go on top 2-1 in the match.
The fourth set saw Wingate score the first four points and dash to a 9-1 lead. The Pioneers worked to cut a 14-5 deficit to 23-18, but Wingate closed out the match with a Saehler kill. Saehler had six kills in the final set while Bludau had five for the Bulldogs. Welch was a perfect 3-for-3 on hitting in the fourth set for the Pioneers.
Attaway finished with 10 kills and led all players with three aces in the match for the Bulldogs. Kimberly Hovey reached double figures in digs for Wingate with 12, while Williams had a team-high three blocks to go along with five kills.
Melissa Mazur had 14 digs for the Pioneers, with Cassie Born adding five kills and eight digs. Aubrey Hawkins also had five kills for the Pioneers, while Lewis and Rachel Garnett had four apiece.
Tusculum will be back on the court at Pioneer Arena next Friday, Oct. 14 for the two-day SAC-Peach Belt Challenge. The Pioneers will play USC Aiken and Georgia College on Friday and face Lander and Augusta on Saturday, OCt. 15 during the event, which will also feature Mars Hill.
