SALISBURY, N.C. – The Catawba women's volleyball team competed tough against defending South Atlantic Conference (SAC) and Southeast Region Champion Wingate, but fell short, 3-1 on Saturday afternoon.
Maggie Ayers led the blue and white's attack with 11 kills on a .250 hitting percentage. Annica Kagle recorded eight kills and five total blocks. Both Maddie Henning and Madi McIlwain notched five block assists. Riley Hill played a strong defensive match, delivering 24 digs.
Catawba (8-3, 4-3 SAC) held the advantage defensively, tallying 12 blocks to Wingate's (8-3, 4-2 SAC) nine while totaling 77 digs to the Bulldogs' 73. The Catawba Indians committed 26 errors; Wingate registered 33. The Bulldogs, however, were more effective offensively, landing 54 kills on a .122 team hitting percentage to Catawba's 40 kills on a .095 percentage and providing nine aces to the blue and white's two.
After Wingate began the first set with a 3-0 lead, Catawba would make a 6-0 run highlighted by a Rebekah Ayers kill. Kagle would make an immediate impact after checking in, having a hand in three blocks as the SAC foes played a neck-and-neck frame to the very end. The score was deadlocked at 23, but Wingate would close the door with the final two kills.
Catawba continued to compete in the second frame after trailing by a narrow margin. Henning would score before Maggie Ayers delivered back-to-back kills from Camden Bizot to deliver another stalemate at 12 apiece. Alani Kincaid checked into the match and gave the blue and white four kills in the frame. But after the score was tied up 24-24, the veteran Bulldog group would prevail and take the second stanza 26-24.
After dropping the first two highly contested sets, the gritty Catawba Indians raced ahead 8-3 in the third with a combined six kills from Kagle and the Ayers Twins. Maggie Ayers would deliver consecutive points to keep a 17-12 advantage before the visitors made their 5-0 run. Wingate held a familiar 24-23 lead, but this time Catawba would fight back. The Bulldogs committed an attacking error before McIlwain and Rebekah Ayers combined for an emphatic block, followed by a set-clinching Maggie Ayers kill to force a fourth frame.
Catawba quickly fell behind after committing too many errors, paired with the effective Bulldog attack, which resulted in Wingate claiming a 25-15 fourth-set victory and a 3-1 match win.
The Catawba Indians will be back at Goodman Arena on Friday, September 25th, when they host Anderson for a SAC match at 7 p.m.
