SALISBURY, N.C. - The eighth seed Newberry College Wolves had the top seed Wingate University Bulldogs on the ropes for the majority of the deciding fifth set, but could not pull off the monumental upset as they fell in their quarterfinal match of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament, 22-25, 25-23, 19-25, 26-24, 12-15.

Newberry finished with an attack percentage of .225 and racked up 71 total kills in the defeat that ended their season. The Wolves completed the year with a 13-18 overall record.

The Wolves played the SAC juggernaut close through their first pair of matches this season, so the stage was set for a hard-fought third meeting between the squads. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-1 lead to begin the match and extended their lead to as many as six points before the scarlet and gray battled back. Staring at an 11-5 deficit, the Wolves engineered an 8-2 spurt to put themselves back in the game.

The squads would swap points down the stretch and found themselves knotted at 21. Wingate scored two straight points before Anne Staudinger (Fort Wayne, Ind.) tallied a kill to cut the Wolves deficit to just one. The Bulldogs would then rattle off the final two points of the set to take a 1-0 lead.

In a reversal of what happened to begin the first set, Newberry opened up a 7-2 to begin the second. Three straight kills from all-SAC second team member Samantha Parrish (Angola, Ind.) would force Wingate to call time. The Wolves kept their momentum going, getting kills from Leah Nye (Hoover, Ala.) and Katie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) to extend their lead to six.

Matters turned dicey during the closing minutes of the set when Wingate charged back to take a one point lead, but a kill from Kara Harris (Grandview, Texas) coupled with three errors by Wingate would give the Wolves a victory and tie the match at one.

In the third set, Wingate took control early and didn't look back. Newberry couldn't get its offense going and the Bulldogs were able to come away with a win to give them a 2-1 advantage.

Harris began the fourth set with a kill for the Wolves and both teams fought for control of the set early on. With the score deadlocked at six, Newberry went on a 6-3 run featuring kills from Parrish, Harris, Nadia Andrade (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and Lindsey Hollingsworth (Charleston, S.C.) to open up a 12-9 lead. Wingate responded with a run of its own to take a 15-12 edge, setting up another Newberry comeback.

Kills from Harris, Parrish and Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) would bring the Wolves back and leave the set tied at 18. Neither side was able to gain the upper hand in the match as they swapped points and leads during the closing minutes of the set. With the score tied at 24, Parrish recorded another kill and a bad set from Wingate allowed the Wolves to force the fifth set - something that Wingate had not played in since November 6 of last season.

A pair of kills from Staudinger would help the scarlet and gray open up a 4-1 lead to begin the deciding set. The scarlet and gray held the advantage until a 5-1 run late in the set would tie things at 11. Attack errors on the next two points would tie things at 12, but Wingate then utilized three straight kills to steal the match from Newberry.

Harris led the Wolves with 20 kills and completed her double-double with 16 digs. The senior finishes her career with 794 kills - good for ninth all-time in the Newberry record books.

Parrish poured in 17 kills and finished off her double-double by tallying 19 digs. The member of the SAC all-freshman team also recorded a block assist.

Staudinger chipped in 11 kills and Nye added 10 in her final match.

Blakely recorded a double-double of her own dispensing 52 assists to go along with 17 digs. The senior concludes her Newberry career with 2,901 assists which is second all-time in the history of the school.

Andrade recorded a match-high 36 digs and added two kills and a service ace in her career finale.