WINGATE, N.C. -- The Lady Railsplitters (15-11, 11-7 SAC) were handcuffed offensively in a straight-set loss to the seventh-ranked Wingate Bulldogs (25-1, 18-0 SAC) in South Atlantic Conference volleyball action on Halloween night in Wingate, N.C. The Bulldogs won their 55th consecutive league match by set scores of 25-17, 25-19 and 25-19.
 
Wingate, winners of eight straight South Atlantic Conference regular season titles, finished off the sweep of the regular-season series and improved to 17-0 all-time against Lincoln Memorial since the two programs' initial meeting during the 2007 campaign.
 
The Lady Railsplitters were never able to find their rhythm in the offensive attack as the Bulldogs limited the visiting squad to a season-low .048 hitting percentage with 26 kills and 21 errors on 105 total attempts. Lincoln Memorial also committed six service errors and seven reception miscues. Wingate, meanwhile, hit .267 with 40 kills and 13 errors on 101 tries.
 
Freshman outside hitter Kiera Holland (Columbia, S.C.) and sophomore setter Abby Cash (New Carlisle, Ohio) paced the Lady Railsplitters with five kills apiece. Holland added a pair of digs and a block assists to her stat ledger while Cash pitched in 15 assists and 11 digs. Sophomores Brooke Fleeman (Nashville, Tenn.) and Kara Solek (Denver, N.C.), along with junior middle blocker Jazzy Oates (Franklin, Tenn.), contributed four kills apiece. Junior libero Casey Mense (Littleton, Colo.) churned out 10 digs, while sophomore Bristol Snider (Chattanooga, Tenn.) tallied eight scoops.
 
Shelly Stumpff led the Bulldogs with 13 kills and 12 digs, accumulating her game-high mark on a .267 attack percentage. Susie Murach posted eight kills on only 13 attempts for a .615 hitting clip, while Lexi Potter and Abby Saehler notched six kills apiece. Alison Cooke logged a match-high 33 assists with 11 scoops.
 
The Lady Railsplitters dug themselves into an early hole in the first set as an attack error propelled the Bulldogs to an 11-3 advantage. Two Wingate attacking miscues and a Holland kill helped cut the deficit back to 13-9, but a Stumpff termination pulsed the Bulldogs back in front 20-14 later in the set. Back-to-back LMU attacking blunders ended the first stanza in Wingate's favor 25-17.
 
A kill by Saehler capped an 8-2 Bulldog run to open the second set, but kills by Oates and Solek closed the gap to 9-6. The Lady Railsplitters kept chipping away at the lead as back-to-back kills by Cash and a Monica McConnaughey (Federal Way, Wash.) service ace made it a 17-16 frame. The Bulldogs never relinquished the lead despite that narrow margin, eventually closing on an 8-3 run, capped by a Katie Bludau service ace, to take a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 victory.
 
A Maranda Boddie (Springfield, Ohio) kill and consecutive Wingate miscues put the Lady Railsplitters in front 12-9 in the third set, but that lead vanished in a hurry as the Bulldogs ripped off an 11-2 run to assume a commanding 20-14 edge. A Lexi Potter attacking error cut the deficit to 22-18, but Wingate won the point in three of the final four rallies to finish off the match.
 
The Lady Railsplitters return to action on Saturday with a trip to Hartsville, S.C. for a SAC battle against the Coker Cobras. First serve in that match is scheduled for noon.