GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – The No. 24 and top-seeded Wingate University Volleyball Team (34-1) hit .295 as a team for the match as the Bulldogs defeated #2 Carson-Newman (22-9) 3-1 (25-9, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23) Sunday afternoon at Pioneer Arena on the campus of Tusculum College. With the win, Wingate becomes the first school to ever win four straight SAC tournaments.

The Bulldogs set the tone in the first set as they hit .515 (19-2-33) for the period. Wingate led 8-3 before an eight point serving run by Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) put the stretched the lead to 13 points and the Bulldogs cruised to the victory.

Carson-Newman evened the match up in the second frame. Down 18-14, the Lady Eagles were able to tie the set at 20 and go up by a 22-20 score. Wingate tied it at 22, but C-N was able to pull out the 25-23 victory to knot the match at a set apiece.

The Bulldogs got out to a 6-0 start in the third set before Carson-Newman clawed their way back into the set. The Lady Eagles closed the gap to 11-9 before Wingate went on another scoring run to take the set.

The two teams battled back and forth for the first part of the fourth stanza to a 10-10 tie. Each team responded to the other’s run until the score was tied again at 20. After three straight points by Wingate, C-N posted two of their own before the Bulldogs closed the match out scoring two of the final three points of the set.

Wingate was led by Gale with 18 kills and 10 digs and Lauren Billo with 18 kills. Maggie Malone paced the Bulldogs with 19 digs while Liz Willis had 47 assists.

Junior outside hitter Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) had 14 kills to lead the Lady Eagles while sophomore right side hitter Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) had 11 kills on 24 attempts with one error (.417) and four blocks. Senior setter Stephanie Cutter (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) had 26 assists and 15 digs while freshman libero Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) had a match-high 19 digs.

Carson-Newman will now await the NCAA Championship selection committee on the seedings for the 2009 NCAA Division II Southeast Region Tournament. They will be released later Sunday evening.