WINGATE, N.C. - The Newberry women's volleyball team took the second set off 24th-ranked Wingate, but the Bulldogs went on to win 3-1 Saturday afternoon.

In the pivotal third set, Wingate won 10 of the first 14 points to take the early set lead. Although Newberry battled back and won five of the next ten points, the effort was just not enough, as the Bulldogs cruised to a 25-18 set victory, punctuating it with a service ace.

The match started off well for the Wolves as they took an early 6-3 lead; however, they were unable to capitalize on the early momentum and quickly found themselves trailing 11-7 after Wingate found their footing and won eight of the next nine points. From there, the Wolves and Bulldogs were locked in a battle, but Newberry was unable to get over the hump, with Wingate taking a seven point lead at 17-10. The Bulldogs then closed out the set by a score of 25-17 to take the early 1-0 lead.

The second set also started off well for the Wolves as they won the first three points to take an early lead. After a 20 minute delay due to a fire alarm being pulled, Newberry continued to seize the momentum, jumping out to a 10-4 lead.Wingate would make it tough from there, however, as they closed within one point multiple times and even tied the set at 23. The Wolves held strong, winning the next two points via kills by Katie Ullsperger and Angela Gore to take the set by a score of 25-23 and evening the match at one set apiece. 

After the aforementioned third set, the Wolves simply ran out of gas. Wingate took the early 5-2 lead and never trailed, pushing their lead to as much as ten points on multiple occasions as they went on to win the set 25-15, clinching a 3-1 victory.

Freshman Katie Ullsperger continued her strong play to start the season, as she led the team in kills with nine, was second with 16 digs, and added in two service aces for good measure. From the service line, Kylee Kanealey joined Ullsperger with two service aces, adding in a block.Taylor Garrison also saw extended playing time for the first time this season and recorded a season high of 25 assists. She also added a team-leading 17 digs to finish with a double double.

Other strong contributors included Zoe Dinkins and Angela Gore, who posted nine and seven kills, respectively. Dinkins was also a force at the net with a team-leading four blocks. Toni-Anne Whitlow also had a strong day at the net with two blocks to her credit.

The Wolves will look to bounce back this coming weekend as they open their home slate against Anderson this coming Tuesday.