Wingate, N.C.----The top-seeded and 12th-ranked Wingate University Bulldogs hit .400 for the match Friday night, defeating fourth-seeded GRU Augusta 3-1 in the NCAA Southeast Regional semifinals in Cuddy arena. Wingate won by scores of 25-8, 25-27, 25-20 and 25-19 to improve to 33-2 overall, advancing to the NCAA Sweet 16 for the sixth straight year. GRU Augusta ends its season at 27-9.

Junior right-side hitter Shelly Stumpff (Iowa City, Iowa) had 14 kills, nine digs and two aces, hitting .414 for the match. Senior middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) hit .522 with 12 kills and four blocks, while sophomore middle blocker Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) hit .421 with 10 kills and five blocks. Senior outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.) also hit .421 with 10 kills, adding four digs and three blocks. Senior setter Alison Cooke (Davidson, N.C.) had 45 assists, eight digs, six kills, three blocks and two aces, while freshman libero Kori Adams (Ayden, N.C.) collected 12 digs.

"Georgia Regents was a very difficult team to prepare for in just one day," head coach Shelton Collier says. "They are very well-coached and do some unique things that we have not seen all year, so it was a challenge for us to adjust. We are proud to be playing in the championship match on Saturday."

Paige Elliott had 13 kills with a .450 hitting percentage to lead the GRU attack. Kali Boatwright had eight kills and 11 digs, while Kristen Koch added seven kills and nine digs. Katie Beresford and Maggie Darling contributed six kills apiece for the Jaguars. Sadie Thurston had 19 assists and seven digs, while Alyssa Latham added 13 assists.

Wingate jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the opening frame, getting three Stumpff kills along with two kills and a block from Saehler. A pair of Potter kills, along with a Stumpff ace made it 16-3. A kill from freshman Katie Bludau (Seabrook, Texas), along with a Murach kill and Potter block made it 22-4. A Stumpff kill made it 24-8, while a GRU error ended the opening frame. Wingate hit .550 in the first set, while GRU Augusta hit -.217.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a 5-2 lead in set two, getting a kill and an ace from Cooke. A kill from Beresford tied it at 11, while a Wingate error put the Jaguars on top 12-11. A Koch kill gave GRU a two-point lead, but two Potter kills, along with a Murach kill put the 'Dogs on top 18-17. A Boatwright kill tied it at 20, but a block from Saehler and Murach, along with an Augusta error gave Wingate a 22-20 advantage. A Boatwright blocked tied it at 22, while a Boatwright kill made it 23-22.  A Saehler kill and GRU error put the 'Dogs on top 24-23, but kills from Darling and Koch made it 25-24. Bludau tied it at 25 with a kill, but a kill from Elliott put GRU up 26-25. A kill from Darling capped the set.

A 4-0 run gave the Bulldogs a 9-4 lead in set three. Stumpff had a kill and an ace in the flurry. A pair of Elliott kills trimmed the lead to three at 12-9, while a kill from Darling made it 13-11. A kill and a block from Saehler pushed the lead to four at 15-11, but a Kailla Baptiste kill cut the lead to two at 16-14. Kills from Stumpff and senior outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.), along with a block from Potter and Cooke made it 19-14. A Potter kill made it 20-15, but kills from Elliott and Koch, along with two Wingate errors made it 20-19. A Murach kill pushed the lead back to two, but an Elliott kill made it 21-20. Saehler answered with back-to-back kills, while a GRU error made it 24-20. An ace from Cooke capped the third set.

Wingate jumped out to a 9-3 lead in set four, getting two kills and a block from Stumpff. Kills from Bludau and Cooke made it 13-5. Kills from Murach and Saehler gave the 'Dogs an 18-9 advantage. An Elliott kill and Thurston ace cut the lead to six at 18-12, but a kill and a block from Potter made it 22-14. Another Potter kill made it 23-15, but a kill and a block from Boatwright made it 23-18. An error gave the Bulldogs a 24-19 advantage, while a Murach kill ended the match. The Bulldogs hit .500 in the final set, with 17 kills and one error in 32 attacks.

Wingate had 59 kills and just 11 errors in 120 attacks to hit .400, the highest team hitting percentage in Wingate's NCAA Tournament history. GRU Augusta hit .168, with 47 kills and 25 errors in 131 attacks. Saehler's five blocks were a match high, while Potter added four. Stumpff and Cooke had two aces each for Wingate, while Thurston had two aces for the Jaguars.

The Bulldogs are back in action Saturday, facing No. 21 Armstrong State in the regional title match. The two teams met in the regional championship match in 2013, with the bulldogs prevailing 3-1 in Cuddy Arena. The two teams met twice in Cuddy Arena earlier this season, with the Pirates winning the first contest in five and Wingate sweeping the second match.