Top-Seeded Wingate Wins 2016 SAC Volleyball Tournament Crown

Wingate, N.C.----The top-seeded Wingate University Bulldogs swept second-seeded Lincoln Memorial University in the 2016 South Atlantic Conference Tournament championship match Saturday afternoon in Cuddy Arena. Wingate won by scores of 25-23, 25-12 and 25-18 to improve to 29-5 overall, winning its 10th tournament championship in the last 11 years. LMU falls to 25-8 on the year.

The Bulldogs were playing in the SAC title match for the 12th consecutive year, while winning their league-best 12th tournament title. Wingate has also collected 11 consecutive regular season SAC championships, giving the Bulldogs 21 league titles in the last 11 years and a conference-best 25 SAC championships all-time.

Senior All-American Abby Saehler had 15 kills, 11 digs and three blocks to lead the Wingate attack, hitting .452 for the match. Lynnlee Mather and Anna Holmquist contributed eight kills each, with Mather hitting .636 and Holmquist hitting .471 to go along with four blocks. Outside hitters Katie Bludau and Oakley Attaway contributed six kills apiece, while Rachel Alles handed out 37 assists to go along with six digs and four kills. Treslyn Ortiz collected a match-high 15 digs for the Bulldogs.

Kiera Holland had nine kills to lead the LMU attack, hitting .368. Samantha Cash added seven kills, while Liz brock contributed four kills for the Railsplitters. Abby Cash handed out 22 assists, while also collecting a team-best 11 digs.

Saehler was named the SAC Tournament MVP. She piled up a tournament-best 47 kills, while ranking sixth with a .360 hitting percentage. Bludau and Holmquist joined Saehler on the All-Tournament team. Bludau ranked seventh in the tournament with 3.09 kills per set while leading the way with six aces. Holmquist finished third with a .385 hitting percentage and fourth with 1.36 blocks per set.

Samantha Cash and Abby Cash earned All-Tournament honors from LMU. Samantha Cash finished second in the tournament with 42 kills, while Abby Cash was second with 115 assists. They were joined by Meredith Jones of Queens, who led the tournament with 4.88 kills per set and Logan Hayward of Newberry, who was second with 4.38 kills per set.

A Holland kill gave LMU an early 7-4 lead in the first set, but back-to-back kills from Alles put Wingate on top 9-8. Two Bulldog errors, along with an Abby Cash kill put the Railsplitters on top 14-11, but a kill and two blocks from Saehler tied it at 15. Kills from Holmquist and Alles gave Wingate a 19-17 advantage, while kills from Mather and Bludau made it 22-19. A Tone Gill kill got LMU within one at 23-22, but an Attaway kill gave the 'Dogs a 24-22 advantage. A Wingate service error made it 24-23, but Saehler responded with a kill to end the set.

The Bulldogs raced out to a 6-0 lead in the second set, with Mather, Saehler and Bludau each contributing a kill in the early spurt. Two more Saehler kills, along with an Attaway kill made it 12-3, while a Holmquist kill stretched the lead to 11. A Saehler block, followed by an Attaway kill made it 24-12, while another Attaway kill ended the frame. Wingate hit .379 in set two, while Lincoln Memorial had just five kills, hitting -.100.

An Attaway kill and Saehler ace gave the Bulldogs a 6-2 lead in set three, while a Bludau kill made it 8-3. A Samantha Cash kill got LMU within two at 13-11, but a Holmquist block pushed the Wingate advantage back to four at 15-11. A Holmquist kill and Attaway ace gave the Bulldogs a five-point lead, while a Bludau ace made it 22-16. A pair of Wingate errors helped Lincoln Memorial get back within four at 22-18, but an Attaway kill and LMU error made it 24-18. Holmquist ended the match with a kill.

The Bulldogs hit .309 on the day, with 47 kills and 13 errors in 110 attacks. Lincoln Memorial had 27 kills and 15 digs in 99 attacks, hitting .121. Holmquist led all players with four blocks, while Bludau and Attaway led the way with two aces apiece.

Wingate ended the week as the tournament leader in hitting percentage (.288), opponent hitting percentage (.169), assists per set (13.91), kills per set (14.91) and aces per set (1.55).

Both teams will now wait to hear their postseason future when the NCAA Tournament brackets are announced Monday night. Wingate received the automatic bid with the tournament title, while Lincoln Memorial was ranked fifth in the most recent NCAA Southeast Region poll, with the top eight going to the tournament. 

All-Tournament Team
Abby Saehler, Wingate (MVP)
Katie Bludau, Wingate
Anna Holmquist, Wingate
Samantha Cash, LMU
Abby Cash, LMU
Logan Hayward, Newberry
 Meredith Jones, Queens