NEWBERRY, S.C. - In a match where the final score was not indicative of the set scores, the Wolves dropped a thriller against the Wingate Bulldogs in South Atlantic Conference play tonight 18-25, 25-20, 23-25, 22-25. Newberry was able to force 19 attack errors on the part of the league leaders but could not close out an extremely tight match on senior night.

“Tonight was the first time in quite some time where we have looked very, very good,” said head coach David Nicholson. “We played a great match and if a couple balls fall the other way we could have been looking at a very different outcome to the match.”

The Bulldogs struck first, opening up a 4-1 lead early in the first set, but a 5-1 lead by the Wolves would put them on top. Kills from Anne Staudinger (Fort Wayne, Ind.) and Samantha Parrish (Angola, Ind.) would help the Wolves obtain the edge.

The one-point margin was the only lead that the Wolves would enjoy throughout the primary set though. Wingate used a multi-faceted attack to take the first set by seven points. Both sides played a sterling first half with only seven combined errors between the two squads.

The two squads would trade points and tie three times through the first six points of the second set before Newberry took the lead for good thanks to a kill from Kara Harris (Grandview, Texas) on senior night to make the score 4-3.

Wingate would threaten on various occasions but could never get past the Wolves defense. Kills from senior Leah Nye (Hoover, Ala.), Katie Davenport (Tyrone, Ga.) and Parrish would stake the Wolves a six point advantage - their biggest of the evening. Newberry cruised to a set two victory setting the stage for a pair of great sets to follow.

It would have been difficult to envision a better beginning for the Wolves than what occurred in the infancy of the third set. Kills from Davenport, Nye and a service ace from Nye would give the Wolves a 5-2 lead. Wingate quickly recovered though, and took the lead thanks to a 6-0 run. Newberry answered back to eventually tie the game at 10-all thanks to a service ace from Lindsey Hollingsworth (Charleston, S.C.).

The squads played each other point for point down the stretch before the Bulldogs took a 22-18 lead late in the set. The scarlet and gray battled back and with a block from the senior duo of Nye and Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) found themselves down by just one point, 22-21.

The teams would swap points and a Parrish kill would pull the Wolves to within one again but a Bulldog kill on the ensuing point would give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

The scarlet and gray found themselves up against the wall and played Wingate close through the entirety of the decisive fourth set. A Bulldog run would give them a 12-7 advantage before a 5-0 Newberry surge tied things up. The run consisted of a pair of kills from Harris and three straight Bulldog attack errors.

Another Wingate error and an additional kill from Harris would give the Wolves a 14-12 lead. Wingate answered with a pair of points and the teams would exchange the lead from there.

Trailing 21-22, the Wolves tied things up by way of a Bulldog service error. Unfortunately for the Wolves, that was as close as they would get as Wingate ended the match with a 3-0 spurt.

Parrish led the pack with 15 kills and completed her double-double with a team high 19 digs. Harris had a strong match as well, compiling 13 kills, nine digs, a block assist and a pair of service aces.

Nye contributed six kills, six digs, a service ace and a pair of block assists. Nadia Andrade (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) recorded a rare kill and racked up 17 digs and a service ace. Blakely dispensed a team high 37 assists and rounded out her double-double with 10 digs.

The Wolves will play their regular season finale tomorrow (Nov. 6) as they play host to the Catawba Indians. The match is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.