NEWBERRY, S.C. - After an exciting victory Friday night, Newberry geared up for another South Atlantic Conference showdown on Saturday afternoon against Wingate. Wingate (18-1, 6-0 SAC) entered the match in first place in the SAC and undefeated in conference play. Newberry played the Bulldogs competitively, but lost in four sets by scores of 25-17, 25-22, 20-25 and 25-17. With the win in the third set, Newberry became the first team to take a set from Wingate in conference play.

Newberry opened the first set impressively and pulled out to an 8-4 lead, forcing the Bulldogs into a timeout. Wingate used the timeout to regroup and battled back into the match until they tied it at 17-17. The teams exchanged several points evenly and tied the score four more times before Wingate pulled ahead. The Bulldogs won four out of the last five points to claim the opening set by a score of 25-22.

Newberry failed to reproduce the early success in the second set and quickly fell behind. Wingate compiled a .395 attacking percentage in the set and went on several runs to keep the set out of reach, ultimately winning it 25-17.

Newberry displayed their determination in the third set and refused to let Bulldogs win without a fight. The scarlet and gray battled through nine different ties before finally pulling ahead 12-11. Newberry never led by more than 4 until putting together a 5-2 run to hand Wingate their first set loss to a SAC opponent.

Wingate bore down in the final set and pulled ahead early. Newberry managed a 5-2 run to pull within 4 points, but Wingate thwarted their efforts, ultimately winning six consecutive points to win the set and the match.

Fernanda Frey (Sao Paulo, Brazil) produced a stellar outing in the loss with another double-double. She totaled 12 kills and 22 digs, both of which were good enough to lead the team. Lorena Maia (Belo Horizonte) also reached double-digit kills with 10.

Newberry's defense fared against Wingate's prolific attack. Aside from Frey's 22 digs, Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) had 19, Blair Browning (New Lexington, Ohio) had 13, and Kara Harris (Grandview, Texas) had 12.

Newberry will break from conference play to host Belmont Abbey on Wednesday, October 7, at 7 p.m.