Wingate finishes fourth straight undefeated SAC season with 3-0 sweep over AU Trojans Saturday

Anderson, S.C.----For the fourth consecutive season, the Wingate University Bulldogs went through South Atlantic Conference play without a blemish on their record. Wingate defeated Anderson University 3-0 in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action Saturday afternoon to claim its 64th consecutive SAC victory. The ‘Dogs won by scores of 25-17, 25-18 and 25-16 to improve to 25-1 overall and 18-0 in the SAC. Anderson falls to 18-13 overall and 8-10 in the SAC.

            “The most impressive part of the winning streak is the ability to consistently find a way to win these challenging road matches,” Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. “We had to win two matches this weekend with three key starters missing and we were able to do so, which was impressive.”

            Senior middle blocker Rebecca Bloemer (Louisville, Ky.) had 11 kills in 14 swings for a .714 hitting percentage on the afternoon. Freshman outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added 11 kills and nine digs, while senior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) had 10 kills, 15 digs and three blocks. Junior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) had 37 assists and eight digs for the Bulldogs, while sophomore outside hitter Katie Handy (Palos Verdes, Calif.) contributed a career-high 13 digs.
            Senior outside hitter Jamie Lancaster (Fountain Inn, S.C.) had seven kills and five digs to lead the Anderson attack. Freshman middle blocker Chelsea Olson (Huntington Beach, Calif.) added six kills for the Trojans. Senior setter Lindsay Doggett (Jacksonville, Ala.) handed out 24 assists, while senior libero Adria Mullaney (Tampa, Fla.) collected 22 digs.

            The Trojans jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the first set. The Bulldogs stormed back, using a 13-3 run to take a 19-15 lead on back-to-back Bloemer kills, along with a McGowan kill. Kills from McGowan and Gale pushed the lead to 24-17, while McGowan capped the opening frame with a kill.
            A Lancaster kill gave the Trojans a 12-10 lead in the second set. Wingate answered with an 11-4 run to take a 21-16 advantage. Junior outside hitter Janice Ehorn (Orange, Conn.) started the flurry with a kill and a block, while Bloemer and McGowan added two kills each. Willis capped the spurt to put the ‘Dogs on top by five. A Billo kill made it 22-17, while Wingate claimed the second set on three Anderson errors.

            Kills from Billo and Gale, along with an Anderson error put Wingate on top 15-8 in the third set. Kills from McGowan and Bloemer pushed the lead to nine at 19-10. The Trojans would get no closer than six the rest of the way. A kill from freshman middle blocker Allison Rickher (Matthews, N.C.), followed by a block from Billo and Rickher, made it 24-16. Handy capped the match with an ace.
            The Bulldogs hit .239 on the day, with 44 kills and 16 errors in 117 attacks. Anderson had 29 kills and 18 errors in 124 attacks for a hitting percentage of .089.

            The Bulldogs will be the top seed in next week’s Food Lion SAC tournament. Wingate will look to win its fifth consecutive tournament title. The event will take place at Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C.

            (Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)