Wingate To Host NCAA Volleyball Southeast Regional Volleyball Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- For the third consecutive year, the Wingate University volleyball team will host the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional tournament. Four teams from the South Atlantic Conference will make up the eight-team field.

The Bulldogs are 28-1 overall and riding a 26-match winning streak. They will be the number one seed in this week's tournament. The event begins Friday in Cuddy Arena, with four quarterfinal matches. The first match will take place at 12 noon, while Wingate will play at 7:30 p.m. Friday night against Lees-McRae College.

For the fourth straight season, Wingate enters the NCAA Tournament with only one loss, while riding a winning streak of at least 20 matches. The top-seeded Bulldogs captured their fifth consecutive Food Lion SAC tournament Sunday afternoon, winning 3-1 over Tusculum College. Wingate also won its fifth consecutive regular season SAC title in 2010. The 'Dogs are 128-7 overall since the start of the 2007 season, good for a .948 winning percentage which leads all of Division II. Wingate led the nation in winning percentage in 2007; the Bulldogs currently lead the nation again this season. The Bulldogs are the only school to rank in the top three in winning percentage each of the last four years.

"We are obviously pleased to have earned a number one seed," Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. "We are looking forward to playing the NCAA Regional on our home court."

"Since the first day of the season, our players have talked about the possibility of winning the region and going on to the Elite Eight for the first time in the program's history," Collier says. "…We are excited about having an opportunity to achieve this goal during the upcoming weekend. We learned some valuable lessons this past weekend in winning the SAC Tournament, so we expect to have some confidence and momentum as we head into our first match against Lees-McRae on Friday."

Defending Southeast Region champion Flagler College is the number two seed for the second consecutive year. The Peach Belt regular season and tournament champion Saints reached the NCAA Final Four in 2009. Tusculum College is the three seed, followed by Lincoln Memorial University and the University of Montevallo (Ala.) at four and five, respectively. Carson-Newman College is the six seed, while Armstrong Atlantic State University and Lees-McRae round out the top eight.

The Bulldogs will take on the Conference Carolinas champion Bobcats of Lees-McRae Friday night. Wingate swept Lees-McRae in the 2010 season opener in Banner Elk. The Bobcats fell to Flagler 3-2 in the opening round of the 2009 NCAA Regionals in Cuddy Arena. Senior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas), sophomore middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) and freshman outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) had eight kills each in the first meeting between the Bulldogs and Bobcats. LMC junior hitter Megan Epperson (St. John, Ind.) led Lees-McRae with nine kills.

Wingate's fifth consecutive SAC Tournament title got off to a thrilling start, when the 'Dogs held off the eighth-seeded Wolves of Newberry 3-2 Friday. Gale had 19 kills, 20 digs and six blocks to lead Wingate to the win in its only five-set match of the year. Krauser added career-highs of 15 kills and six blocks, while McGowan contribtued 14 kills and 11 digs. Senior outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) had 16 kills in the semifinal sweep over Carson-Newman, while Gale added 12 kills and 13 digs. Junior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) had 37 assists and 11 digs, as the 'Dogs hit .351 for the match.

McGowan piled up a career-high 17 kills in the championship match, while adding 15 digs and two solo blocks. Gale had 13 kills, 12 digs and four blocks, while senior setter Amanda Clark (Timberlake, N.C.) collected 37 assists and eight digs. Junior libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) joined Gale and McGowan on the All-Tournament team, notching 29 digs on Sunday. Gale earned tournament MVP honors for the second time in her career.

The 2010 season marks the sixth consecutive year the Bulldogs have made the NCAA Division II volleyball tournament. Wingate collected its first-ever NCAA win in 2008, sweeping Anderson (S.C.) University in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs knocked off Tusculum and Carson-Newman in 2009, before falling to Flagler 3-1 in the regional finals.

Wingate's balanced attack has four players averaging at least 2.2 kills per set, while seven Bulldogs are averaging at least 1.5 kills per set. Wingate's 15.0 kills per set as a team rank fourth nationally. The 'Dogs are also fourth in the nation with 14.14 assists per set. Wingate's .278 hitting percentage is good for 12th nationally.

Only the second two-time SAC Player of the Year in league history, Gale leads the 'Dogs with 3.37 kills per set, while hitting a league-best .382. The 2009 first team All-American also ranks in the top five in the league with 0.98 blocks per set and 27 aces. Gale is second on the team with 2.80 digs per set; she has a team-high 12 double-doubles this season. Gale has six consecutive double-doubles, while notching 42 in her illustrious career.

McGowan is second on the team with 2.97 kills per set, while Billo is third with 2.67 kills per set. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) is fourth with 2.25 kills per set, while ranking third in the SAC with a .339 hitting percentage. A three-time All-SAC selection, Willis leads the 'Dogs with 7.09 assists per set, while Clark is dishing out 6.01 assists per set. A 2009 honorable mention All-American, Malone leads the team with 4.42 digs per set.

Tusculum (25-6) is enjoying its finest season since becoming a NCAA Division II member (since 1998). The Pioneers posted a 16-2 record in the South Atlantic Conference to finish second in the league standings. Tusculum advanced to the championship match of the Food Lion SAC Tournament for the first time in school history.

Tusculum swept the two regular season meetings against the Lady Eagles winning 3-1 in Greeneville on Sept. 14 and followed with another four-set win in Jefferson City on Oct. 26.

LMU (23-7) makes the field for the third straight season.

Seniors Lauren Kiwacka, Ashley Knight and Lia Bevins all make their third appearance in the tournament.

Kiwacka, a first-team All-SAC selection, leads the Lady Railsplitters in assists on the season with 665. She is also amongst the national leaders in triple-doubles.

All-SAC second-team member Knight is second on the team in kills (263) and digs (339).

Freshman Kaitlin Walton leads the team in kills with 321 on the season. She is a member of the All-SAC second team and the All-SAC freshman team.

The Lady Railsplitters face a familiar foe in Montevallo (23-12). The two schools faced off from 1995-2005 when both were members of the Gulf South Conference. Currently the Falcons are members of the Peach Belt Conference, where they finished second.

For more information on the 2010 NCAA Division II Southeast Region tournament, Wingate University will provide a Tournament Central page on www.wingatebulldogs.com. The site will provide a schedule and links for multimedia available during the week, along with much more information. The Tournament Central page will be available Monday afternoon.

NCAA II Southeast Regional, Wingate, N.C.
(Match dates and times to be announced)
Quarterfinals
No. 1 Wingate vs. No. 8 Lees-McRae
No. 4 Lincoln Memorial vs. No. 5 Montevallo
No. 3 Tusculum vs. No. 6 Carson-Newman
No. 2 Flagler vs. No. 7 Armstrong Atlantic State

Semifinals
Wingate/Lees-McRae winner vs. Lincoln Memorial/Montevallo winner
Tusculum/Carson-Newman winner vs. Flagler/Armstrong Atlantic State winner

Regional Championship
Semifinal winners