WINGATE, N.C.- The Queens University of Charlotte volleyball team's time in the South Atlantic Conference Championships was halted tonight by the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Wingate. The Bulldogs took a 3-1 score going 25-20, 19-25, 25-20, 25-16 to see their way into the finals against Lincoln Memorial. The Royals, fourth seed, conclude the SAC Championships with an overall record of 20-9 while Wingate moved to 28-5.
 
Meredith Jones led the floor with a total of 18 kills in the match as Rebecca Cochran followed with 10 kills. Taylor Henry led the team in blocks tallying three during the match. Sydney Kunz secured 37 assists while Megan Mancini scooped 21 digs.
 
Abby Saehler took the lead for the Bulldogs, finding 16 kills.  Katie Bludau followed with 11 kills in addition to three service aces. Rachel Alles topped the team in assists with 47 as Treslyn Ortiz led in digs with 30.
 
Both team's sat even through a 10-10 score before a slight run by  Wingate caused a timeout to come from the Royals bench, 15-12. The Bulldogs would build their lead to five points, 21-16, but pressure from Queens put them back in the game, trailing 23-20 and forcing Wingate to use a timeout call. The Bulldogs took the next two points coming out of the break to claim the game.
 
Wingate pulled out to an early 10-5 lead to start the second set but Queens rallied to come within two at 12-10. Queens continued to hold just a point off the Bulldogs eventually taking control of the set at 17-16 with a kill from Alex Thompson. Mallory Swarts immediately followed with a service ace to make it an 18-16 score in favor of Queens. The Royals continued to hold the lead extending it to a 21-17 score giving them room to take the set and even the match.
 
It was a fast start for the Bulldogs in the third set as they found a 7-2 lead early. Queens refocused to take control of the set at 10-9; however, a 4-0 run put the Bulldogs back on top eventually stretching the lead to 18-13. Not finished, a 5-0 run featuring two kills from Cochran posted the Royals just a point behind at 20-19 but the run would stop there as Wingate closed out the set.
 
Fighting to stay in the match, Queens led in the opening points of set four eventually forcing a 10-8 score. Some errors slowly shifted the momentum towards the Wingate bench as they moved ahead 18-12. The Royals would never recover as Wingate closed out the match.
 
The Royals will now wait for the NCAA regional rankings to be announced as they look to qualify for the NCAA Championships.