WINGATE, N.C. – The Catawba College women's volleyball team gave the defending South Atlantic Conference regular season champion a fight, but were downed via sweep in its league opener against Wingate, 3-0, Wednesday night.
TEAM STATS
- Catawba (1-6, 0-1 SAC) tied its season high in blocks with six, out-swatting their opponent by two stops
- The AVCA Top 25 vote-receiving Wingate Bulldogs (8-1, 1-0 SAC) led the match in kills (39-29), aces (9-3), and digs (61-45)
- Despite posting an .085 hitting percentage for the contest, the blue and white notched a .171 clip in the third set versus the .163 mark registered by the 'Dogs
INDIVIDUAL STATS
- Kelcie Love paced the Catawba Indians with nine kills while hitting .233
- Lauren Patrick finished with a game-high .400 hitting percentage, firing six kills on 10 swings, in addition to her three blocks (one solo)
- Making three assisted stops at the net was Katie Clark as the junior middle blocker also managed four kills
- Sydney McCutcheon tallied 27 assists, averaging nine per set for a new career high, and dropped in two service aces
- Riley Hill dug out 10 Wingate attacks to lead the list of nine players with digs
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
- Love, Patrick, and Katrina Misra combatted a forceful Bulldog offense with two kills apiece, taking a 6-5 edge in the early going
- Wingate went on a pair of service streaks as Elsa Lamphere landed four aces to flip a Catawba lead into a seven-point deficit
- A couple more kills from Love kept the visitors around until the 'Dogs finished the stanza on a 6-1 run
Second Set
- The period began with seven straight side-outs as the squads clawed to 9-9
- Wingate broke away on a 10-2 run thanks to Catawba miscues and a trio of kills by Abby Mas
- The visitors received two kills from Jordan Danielson and a Riannel Arevalo ace down the stretch, but the Bulldogs' mid-stanza advantage was enough to snare the second set
Third Set
- Love and McCutcheon tallied a kill and ace, respectively, to start the third set on the right foot for Catawba
- Numerous attack errors from the 'Dogs kept Wingate from going on another streak of service as the Catawba hitters ripped timely kills
- Two late kills from Clark as well as darts by Love and Lauren Bodell forced the score beyond 25
- Wingate's Sydney Morland and Maya Van Heyst contributed to the final two points, marking a 27-25 set win and a SAC opener victory for the 'Dogs
UP NEXT
The Catawba Indians play their first home match of the year on Friday, Sep. 20 when Anderson comes to Salisbury. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Goodman Gym.
