WINGATE, N.C. --- The Tusculum University women's volleyball team saw its season end on Tuesday (Apr. 6) night in the quarterfinal of the South Atlantic Conference tournament. The No. 8 seed Pioneers dropped a four-set decision to top seed Wingate, closing out the 2020-21 campaign.

Tusculum was just the second team this year to take a set off of Wingate.

The Bulldogs (9-1) won by scores of 25-15, 22-25, 25-10, 26-24 to defeat the Pioneers (2-4).

Wingate had two hitters reach 12 kills: Maggie Young and Quin Sutphin. The pair fired at .706 and .391 clips, respectively. Sophie Schaff also contributed nine kills on a .412 hitting percentage. Shannon Kasprak dished out 40 assists, while Courtney Niesen landed a match-best three service aces. Niesen collected a match-high 15 digs, followed by Kasprak (11) and Molly Lambillotte (10). Sutphin had her hands in seven total blocks (one solo, six assists), just ahead of Young and Schaff with five block assists each.

Peyton Gash ended her freshman season on a high note, matching her career-high 11 kills on a .360 average. Carli Pigza matched her season-best 11 kills on a .391 hitting percentage. In her final collegiate match, Gabby Gray tied her season-high with seven kills. Elise Carmichael and Natasha Mazzone were even with 17 assists apiece, with Carly Sosnowski collecting the remaining four. Gray's pair of aces led the team, while Sosnowski has recorded 14 digs in back-to-back matches. Pigza and Bailey Parker headed up the net defense with three total blocks each.

Wingate finished the match with a .331 hitting percentage with 58 kills, 19 errors, and 118 total attempts. TU tallied 38 kills, 17 errors, and 122 attacks for a .172 hitting percentage. The Bulldogs led the Pioneers in assists (56-38), digs (56-35), aces (7-4), and total blocks (12-6).