NEWBERRY, S.C. - Newberry was able to hand Wingate its first set loss in three weeks, but the Bulldogs bounced back to down Newberry 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-19) on Saturday afternoon.

The first set went back and forth. A block by Madison Schultz (Decatur, Ind.) and Lauren Prachar (Fort Wayne, Ind.) gave Newberry a 22-21 lead forcing a Wingate timeout.

Anne Staudinger (Fort Wayne, Ind.) gave the Wolves (9-10, 2-7 South Atlantic Conference) some life with an outstanding service game in set one. Her ace put the Wolves up 23-21. An Amanda Soper (Simi Valley, Calif.) kill, one of 10 on the afternoon, put the Wolves up 24-22 and an error by Wingate gave Newberry the first set.

"Amanda (Soper) and Anne (Staudinger) have really stepped up their game for us," Nicholson said. "Unfortunately, Wingate is a really tough team and they showed why they've won a lot of games in a row."

The Wolves were unable to pull out a tough second set. With the set tied at 20, a Newberry attacking error and a Cory McGowan kill forced Nicholson to call timeout. A kill by Soper got the Wolves within one at 23-22 but a McGowan kill and an attacking error gave Wingate the set.

In the third set, Wingate showed why, with today's win, they have won 73 consecutive SAC matches dating back to 2006. The Bulldogs were better defensively than any team the Wolves have seen thus far. Maggie Malone had 34 digs and kept Wingate in a lot of points other teams wouldn't have been able to stay in. With tough defense and several capable attackers already giving Newberry trouble, the Wolves needed to minimize mistakes. They were unable to do so with six service errors in the third set.

The two teams were tied in the fourth but the Bulldogs rattled off five straight points to take a commanding 18-13 lead. After a Wingate attack error, the Wolves came within three at 22-19 but never came any closer.

Freshman Jessica King (Los Angeles, Calif.) led Newberry with 11 kills while Lindsey Hollingsworth (Charleston, S.C.) had a team-high 21 digs.

"I'm proud of our effort today," Nicholson said. "They're (Wingate) an outstanding team and a good model of what we'd like our program to become in the future."