WINGATE, N.C. --- The 25th-ranked Wingate University women's volleyball team posted a 3-0 win over Tusculum University to clinch at least a share of the South Atlantic Conference Championship.
The Bulldogs (25-1, 18-1 SAC) won by scores of 25-15, 25-20, 25-23 to complete the season sweep over the Pioneers (6-19, 4-15 SAC).
WU setter Rachel Alles led the charge with 42 assists and 14 digs, while Anna Holmquist tallied a match-high 11 kills and a .526 hitting percentage. Phoebe Havenaar added nine kills and two blocks, while Molly Lambillotte posted seven kills, 12 digs and a .333 hitting percentage.
The Tusculum duo of Aubrey Hawkins and Carli Pigza tallied seven kills each while senior Brooke Statler added five kills, two blocks, a service ace and a .500 hitting percentage for the Black & Orange. Setter Alyssa Rojas dished out 24 assists and five digs. Senior libero Melissa Mazur finished with 22 digs, including nine in the opening set.
Wingate finished the match with a .308 hitting percentage with 51 kills, 14 errors and 120 total attempts. TU tallied 28 kills, 13 errors and 121 attacks for a .124 hitting percentage. Wingate dominated on defense, holding a 70-48 advantage in digs led by libero Kori Adams' 23 digs. The two teams tied in serving as teach accounted for five aces apiece, while TU held a 6-5 advantage in blocking.
Tusculum will wrap-up the regular season on Saturday with a 2 p.m. match at Coker College (12-16, 4-15). Tusculum and the Cobras are tied for ninth place in the league standings. Catawba College (9-21, 5-14 SAC) is in eighth place and leads by one game over the Pioneers and Coker. A TU win over Coker, coupled with a Catawba loss to Newberry College (8-18, 3-16 SAC) and Tusculum would qualify for next week's SAC Tournament.
