HARROGATE, Tenn. -- The Lady Railsplitters (8-7, 4-3 SAC) rolled in the first set and threatened to assume a commanding 2-0 lead by forcing set point in the second frame, but the 10th-ranked Wingate Bulldogs (14-1, 7-0 SAC) ultimately proved too much by escaping Mary Mars Gymnasium with a 3-1 win in South Atlantic Conference action Friday evening in Harrogate, Tenn. Lincoln Memorial fell by set scores of 25-13, 25-27, 12-25, 17-25. 
 
Wingate, the eight-time defending SAC tournament champions, captured its 44th consecutive league victory and improved to 16-0 in the all-time series against Lincoln Memorial. The Lady Railsplitters, meanwhile, dropped back to sixth in the SAC standings with their third loss in a four-match span.
 
The Lady Railsplitters limited the Bulldogs to a season-low .150 attacking percentage as Wingate completed the contest with 53 kills and a season-high 30 errors. But Lincoln Memorial was held to a .113 hitting clip with 36 kills and 20 miscues. The Lady Railsplitters accumulated a season-high 16 block assists, which was matched by Wingate.
 
Freshman Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) paced the Lady Railsplitters with eight kills to go alongside nine digs and three block assists. Graduate student MaRanda Boddie (Springfield, Ohio) collected seven kills on a .400 attacking clip with four block assists. Junior Allison McKinnon (Missouri City, Texas) also posted four block assists with six kills. Sophomore Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) tallied her eighth double-double of the season with 26 assists and 12 scoops, while junior Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) led the Lady Railsplitters with 18 digs. Bristol Snider (Chattanooga, Tenn.) aided the defensive effort with 15 digs.
 
It was a dominant display for the Lady Railsplitters in the opening frame as they logged a .230 attack percentage while handcuffing the Bulldogs, who finished with 11 kills and 12 errors for a -.022 hitting clip. Lincoln Memorial held sway at 8-5 in that first set until Lexi Potter connected on three consecutive kills to tie the frame at 8-8. The two teams jousted back and forth, but LMU maintained a 13-12 advantage before ripping off a 5-0 flurry, capped by back-to-back blocks, to take bulge in front 18-12. The Bulldogs briefly stopped the bleeding on a Shelly Stumpff kill, but the Lady Railsplitters finished on a 7-0 run, paced by five Wingate miscues, to take a commanding 25-13 victory. That marked the biggest set loss for the Bulldogs since falling to top-ranked Concordia-St. Paul a season ago.
 
A 4-0 run helped the Lady Railsplitters assume a 10-8 edge in the second set, but another Potter kill and an LMU attack error put the Bulldogs back on top 12-11. After trading points over the ensuing passage of play, a Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) kill and a WU attack error knotted the set at 15-15, which was a prelude to the Lady Railsplitters taking a 21-20 lead on an Allison Beavers (Tomball, Texas) kill. Susie Murach and Abby Saehler posted back-to-back kills to launch the Bulldogs back in front 22-21, but the Lady Railsplitters captured the point in three of the next four rallies to force set point at 24-23. It was Wingate that fell on the winning end of the final momentum shift as the Bulldogs collected kills in four of the next five rallies to stave of defeat and even that match with a 27-25 victory.
 
That second frame featured a total of 17 ties and eight lead changes.
 
The watershed third set was a commanding effort by the Bulldogs, who used an early 7-0 flurry to assume a 9-3 advantage. The Lady Railsplitters chipped away at the lead, cutting it to 11-6 on a Haley Henderson attack error. The Bulldogs would extend their lead to 15-6 on an Alison Cooke kill before a 6-1 flourish catapulted Wingate in front 21-9. Katie Bludau accounted for the final two points for the Bulldogs, finishing off a 25-12 win with kills in two of the final three rallies.
 
The Bulldogs once again opened up a big lead in set four, jumping in front 10-4 on back-to-back kills by Bludau and Potter. The Lady Railsplitters would rally all the way back, though, by ripping off a 7-1 run aided by four Wingate attacking errors, effectively tying the set at 11-11. The 'Dogs regained the lead at 13-11 before the Lady Railsplitters ran off a 5-0 flurry to take a 16-13 lead. During that streak, Casey Mense posted a pair of service aces. Wingate responded with a 5-0 run to take a 17-16 lead. The Lady Railsplitters tied the set one final time at 17-17 thanks to a Susie Murach attack error, but the Bulldogs promptly finished the frame on a 8-0 run to clinch the match 25-17.
 
Lexi Potter led the Bulldogs with 12 kills, while Abby Saehler compiled 11 kills on a .368 attack percentage. Shelly Stumpff filled out her stat sheet with 11 kills, 16 digs, two service aces and four block assists. Alison Cooke figured in a match high 36 assists with 10 digs while Cory McGowan paced the Bulldogs with 20 scoops.
 
The Lady Railsplitters look to bounce back at 2 p.m. Saturday, hosting the Coker Cobras in South Atlantic Conference action at Mary Mars Gym.