WINGATE, N.C. – The 11-time defending South Atlantic Conference regular-season champion Wingate Bulldogs (15-0, 10-0 SAC) hit .397 and held the visiting Lady Railsplitters (6-8, 3-7 SAC) to a paltry .076 clip to power a 3-0 win in NCAA Division II women's volleyball action on Saturday at Curry Arena. Lincoln Memorial suffered its fifth straight loss and was swept on the road by Wingate for the ninth consecutive time by scores of 25-19, 25-12 and 25-13.
 
No player finished with more than five kills in the match for Lincoln Memorial, who produced just 24 as a team. The Lady Railsplitters also committed 18 attack errors to go along with nine reception errors.
 
Lindsey Nartker and Tone Gill led the team with five kills apiece. Gill was the most efficient attacker of the match for LMU, acquiring those five kills on just eight swings. Kiera Holland and Danielle Ged added four kills each. Olivia Brock tallied 11 assists, while Erica Whiteaker led the team with just seven digs.
 
Anna Holmquist led the Wingate attack with 13 kills on a ridiculous .800 attack percentage, while Katie Bludau produced seven kills with a .357 clip. Phoebe Havenaar had five kills on just seven attempts, while four other players accounted for at least three kills for the Bulldogs. Rachel Alles led the way with 26 assists and Kori Adams led all players with nine digs.
 
The Bulldogs hit .500 with 14 kills in the opening set and surged from the midway point on to take a 1-0 lead. A 5-0 run gave the Lady Railsplitters an early 6-3 cushion, while a kill by Nartker kept Lincoln Memorial in front later, 12-8. However, Holmquist racked up five kills during a 9-0 run that put Wingate ahead 17-12. The Lady Railsplitters never trailed by less than three after that, while two kills from Oakley Attaway and an ace from Treslyn Ortiz completed Wingate's 25-19 win.
 
Wingate used another big run to take control of the second set. After the Lady Railsplitters cut the Bulldogs' lead to 8-5 on a Taylor Williams attack error, Wingate reeled off eight unanswered points aided by four LMU miscues to take a commanding 16-5 lead. That was more than enough cushion for the Bulldogs, who rolled to a 25-12 victory.
 
The Bulldogs kept it rolling in the third set, using three aces from Kori Adams to open on a 7-0 run. The Lady Railsplitters kept fighting despite that early deficit and cut Wingate's lead to 15-11 courtesy of two Bulldog miscues. However, Wingate rallied off five straight points after that to put the set out of reach, eventually cruising to a 25-13 match-clinching victory.    
 
The Lady Railsplitters return to Mary Mars Gym on Tuesday, October 10 to host the Mars Hill Lions in SAC action at 7 p.m.