Wingate, Lenoir-Rhyne advance to finals of Food Lion SAC Volleyball Tournament

Wingate, N.C.--The Wingate University volleyball team advanced to the championship match of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament with a 3-0 victory over Carson-Newman College Friday afternoon in Cuddy Arena. The Bulldogs picked up the sweep with game scores of 30-25, 30-23, 30-14.

With the semi-final victory, Wingate improves to 24-7 overall. The Bulldogs will face Lenoir-Rhyne in Saturday's title contest. First serve Saturday is slated for 2 p.m. Carson-Newman concludes the 2006 campaign 17-15 overall.

SAC Player of the Year and senior middle blocker Rebecca Brezovec (Durham, N.C.) led the Bulldogs with nine kills. She contributed four blocks and three service aces.

Bulldog sophomore outside hitter Kathryn Reddick (Franklinton, N.C.) matched Brezovec with nine kills. She hit .600 on the evening. Wingate junior setter Melissa Deluca (Bahama, N.C.) dished out 33 assists and recorded eight digs.

For Carson-Newman, senior outside hitter Melissa Miller (Springfield, Ohio) had eight kills and 13 digs to lead the Eagles in both departments. C-N sophomore hitter Kelsey Fleck (Celina, Ohio) added seven kills. Eagle senior setter Kari Gibson (Celina, Ohio) had 26 assists and seven digs.

In game three, Wingate pushed to a 12-5 advantage on a Reddick kill. Carson-Newman would get no closer the rest of the way. Deluca ended the third frame with a service ace.

In the second game, the Bulldogs trailed 10-2 early in the frame. A Brezovec kill tied the match at 18-18. An ace by Brezovec gave the hosts the lead for good at 22-21. Two of Brezovec's game-high three aces were in the second game.

Wingate turned a 10-9 game one deficit into a 20-13 lead with an 11-3 run. Reddick played a key role with two kills during the flurry. Deluca also ended the first frame with a service ace.

The Bulldogs had 13 team blocks in the contest. Senior middle blocker Molly Kerns (Bellefontaine, Ohio) led the way with five blocks. Brezovec and freshman outside hitter Jacki Emmenecker (Perrysburg, Ohio) contributed four blocks each.

"Kathryn Reddick had her best match as a college player at a perfect time," Wingate head coach Shelton Collier said. "Our comeback in game two, after being down 10-2, was perhaps the most important game of our season."

"We held a very strong team to a .039 hitting percentage," Collier noted. "This was a tribute to our blocking and our defense. We are excited about playing for the championship tomorrow."

2006 Food Lion SAC Volleyball Tournament
Carson-Newman vs Wingate University (11/3/06 at Wingate, N.C.)

Wingate def. Carson-Newman 3-0 (30-25, 30-23, 30-14)

Carson-Newman (17-15) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Melissa Miller 8-0-2;
Kelsey Fleck 7-1-0; Kelli Sorensen 6-1-1; Katie Troyer 4-0-2; Meg
Davis 4-3-1; Kari Gibson 4-1-0; Haley Bush 0-1-0; Totals 33-7-3.0.
(Assists) - Kari Gibson 26. (Dig leaders) - Melissa Miller 13; Kari
Gibson 7

Wingate University (24-7) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Rebecca Brezovec
9-3-4; Kathryn Reddick 9-0-1; Lauren Alley 8-0-2; Jacki Emmenecker
6-0-4; Melissa Deluca 6-2-4; Molly Kerns 5-0-5; Danielle Thompson
0-1-0; Brittany Horner 0-2-0; Totals 43-8-13.0. (Assists) - Melissa
Deluca 33. (Dig leaders) - Brittany Horner 13; Jacki Emmenecker 8;
Melissa Deluca 8

Site: Wingate, N.C. (Cuddy Arena)
Date: 11/3/06 Attend: 253 Time: 1:20
Referees: Charlie McAlister, Charlie Yang
2006 Food Lion SAC Tournament Semifinals
No. 1 Wingate advances to championship tomorrow
at 2 p.m. versus the winner of No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne
and No. 3 Catawba.

Lenoir-Rhyne tops Catawba, 3-0

Wingate, N.C.----The Lenoir-Rhyne College volleyball team used a balanced attack to defeat Catawba College 3-0 in the semi-finals of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament Friday night in Cuddy Arena. The Bears defeated the Catawba Indians 30-18, 30-27, 30-26.

Lenoir-Rhyne (25-12 overall) will advance to face host Wingate University in Saturday's 2 p.m. championship match. Catawba completes the 2006 season 19-12 overall.

Three Bears achieved double-digit kills Friday night, led by sophomore outside hitter Abby Smith (Virginia Beach, Va.) and her 13 kills. Sophomore outside hitter Katie Novacek (Raleigh, N.C.) recorded 12 kills, while freshman outside hitter Jordan Ledford (Newton, N.C.) contributed 11 kills.

Novacek was on fire, as she hit .526 on the evening (12 kills and only two errors in 19 total attacks). Lenoir-Rhyne hit .400 or better in the first two games. For the match, the Bears compiled a .367 hitting percentage. L-R sophomore setter Lauren McLelland (Statesville, N.C.) distributed 51 assists against Catawba.

Catawba's sophomore hitting duo of Melissa Griffith (Williamsburg, Va.) and Melissa Powers (Bennett, N.C.) led the Catawba Indian offense. Griffith had a match-high 19 kills, while Powers notched 17 kills. Powers hit .467 (17 kills and three errors in 30 attacks) on the evening. Catawba junior setter Andi Henderson (Swansboro, N.C.) had 43 assists Friday night.

South Atlantic Conference
Catawba vs Lenoir-Rhyne (11/3/06 at Wingate, N.C.)

Lenoir-Rhyne def. Catawba 30-18,30-27,30-26

Catawba (19-12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Melissa Griffith 19-0-1; Melissa
Powers 17-2-0; Amanda Nantz 7-0-2; Andi Henderson 3-0-0; Kalin Collier
2-0-0; Jessica Cleary 1-0-0; Mai Zoua Lo 1-0-0; Tiffany Andrassy
0-1-0; Totals 50-3-2.0. (Assists) - Andi Henderson 43. (Dig leaders) -
Melissa Griffith 11; Mai Zoua Lo 10; Missy Bartholomew 9

Lenoir-Rhyne (25-12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Abby Smith 13-1-1; Katie
Novacek 12-0-0; Jordan Ledford 11-1-0; Kathryn Phillips 9-1-1; Katie
Sloan 6-0-1; Lauren McLelland 2-0-1; Stephanie Carter 1-0-0; Totals
54-3-2.0. (Assists) - Lauren McLelland 51. (Dig leaders) - Jordan
Ledford 14; Catherine Fulton 10; Stephanie Carter 8

Site: Wingate, N.C. (Cuddy Arena)
Date: 11/3/06 Attend: 93 Time: 1:22 pm
Referees: Dennis Branch, Ed Phillips

Wingate opens with win over Mars Hill

Wingate, N.C.--The Wingate University Bulldogs topped the Mars Hill Lions in three games Friday in the first round of the South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Tournament in Wingate. With the win the Bulldogs improve to 23-7 overall, and will advance to play Carson-Newman Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. With the loss the Lions end their season at 12-21.

Junior setter Melissa Deluca (Bahama, N.C.) was the star for the Bulldogs, racking up a game high 36 assists and eight service aces to go along with five digs and four kills. Senior middle blocker Molly Kerns (Bellefontaine, Ohio) led Wingate with 11 kills. Rebecca Brezovec (Durham, N.C.) and Rachelle Rostas (Charlotte, N.C.) added nine and eight kills respectively. The Bulldogs hit .343 for the game while holding Mars Hill to .124.

Mars Hill freshman outside hitter Courtney Krieger (Phoenix, Ariz.) had a game high 12 kills for the Lions while senior outside hitter Rebekka Brown (Sierra Vista, Ariz.) added 10. Sophomore setter Jessica Britt (Chesapeake, Va.) had 30 assists for Mars Hill.

The first game was close throughout, with neither team ever holding more than a five point lead. The Bulldogs wrapped up the game with a kill from freshman outside hitter Jacki Emmeneker (Perrysburg, Ohio) to take it 30-27.

The second game started tight as well. The game was tied at seven when the Bulldogs went on a 13-5 run. Wingate would continue to pull away and take the second game 30-19, with three of the last four points coming via kills by Kerns.

Mars Hill would jump out to a six to four lead in the third game. Deluca would then step up to serve and not stop until Wingate held a 20-6 lead. In that decisive 16-0 run, Deluca had four service aces. The Bulldogs would then wrap up the match on back-to-back service aces from freshman outside hitter Chelsea Cancelliere (Richboro, Pa.) to take the final game 30-12.

2006 Food Lion SAC Volleyball Tournament
Mars Hill vs Wingate (Nov 03, 2006 at Wingate, N.C.)

Wingate def. Mars Hill 3-0 (30-27, 30-19, 30-12)

Mars Hill(12-21) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Courtney Krieger 12-1-0; Rebekka
Brown 10-0-1; Danielle Silvers 6-0-3; Lindsey Phillips 4-0-0; Allison
Watkins 2-0-0; Jessica Britt 1-0-0; Tiffany Oreka 0-2-0; Kelly Koziel
0-1-0; Totals 35-4-3.0. (Assists) - Jessica Britt 30. (Dig leaders) -
Tiffany Oreka 13; Kelly Koziel 8

Wingate (23-7) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Molly Kerns 11-0-3; Rebecca Brezovec
9-1-5; Rachelle Rostas 8-0-2; Jacki Emmenecker 7-0-1; Kathryn Reddick
6-0-2; Melissa Deluca 4-8-1; Ashley Craven 0-1-0; Chelsea Cancelliere
0-2-0; Brittany Horner 0-2-0; Totals 45-14-8.0. (Assists) - Melissa
Deluca 36. (Dig leaders) - Brittany Horner 12; Jacki Emmenecker 7

Site: Wingate, N.C. (Cuddy Arena)
Date: Nov 03, 2006 Attend: 279 Time: 1:18
Referees: Marianne Merrill, Charlie McCallister

Carson-Newman tops Tusculum, 3-1

Wingate, N.C.--Carson-Newman College sophomore hitter Kelsey Fleck (Celina, Ohio) compiled 18 kills as the Eagles defeated Tusculum College 3-1 in the first round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament at Cuddy Arena on the Wingate campus. Carson-Newman prevailed 30-24, 24-30, 30-19, 30-22.

Carson-Newman is the number five seed in this year's event. The Eagles improve to 17-14 overall. Carson-Newman will face number one seed Wingate Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. Tusculum completes the 2006 season 23-10 overall.

In the first game, Tusculum cut the lead to 24-22 on a kill by senior outside hitter Vivian Lacy (Lacey, Wash.). Carson-Newman pulled away with a kill by Fleck and a service ace by Kari Gibson (Celina, Ohio).

Tusculum jumped out to an early 13-7 lead in the second game, thanks to six consecutive points with junior outside hitter Alexis Rowles (Simpsonville, S.C.) serving. Lacy had three kills during that stretch. Carson-Newman got to within 28-24, but Tusculum put the game away with kills by sophomore outside hitter Heather MacArthur (Salt Lake City, Utah) and sophomore Holli Cadenhead (Van Vleck, Texas).

The third game also started out close, with the scored tied at 14 before Carson-Newman reeled off eight of the next 10 points for a 23-16 lead. The Eagles went on to take the game 30-19. Senior outside hitter Melissa Miller (Springfield, Ohio) had three kills during that key stretch.

Carson-Newman jumped out to a 15-6 lead in the fourth game. Tusculum was able to close the game to 26-22, but the Eagles closed out the match with the final four points, with Fleck and Miller recording kills.

2006 Food Lion SAC Volleyball Tournament
Carson-Newman vs Tusculum (11/3/06 at Wingate, N.C.)

Carson-Newman def. Tusculum 3-1 (30-24, 24-30, 30-19, 30-22)

Carson-Newman (17-14) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kelsey Fleck 18-0-1;
Melissa Miller 15-2-0; Kelli Sorensen 12-1-0; Kari Gibson 8-3-4; Katie
Troyer 7-0-1; Meg Davis 6-0-3; Haley Bush 0-3-0; Vanessa Kinsler
0-0-1; Salem Stepp 0-2-0; Totals 66-11-5.0. (Assists) - Kari Gibson
48. (Dig leaders) - Kelli Sorensen 15; Haley Bush 10

Tusculum College (23-10) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Vivian Lacy 26-0-3;
Holli Cadenhead 11-0-0; Heather MacArthur 9-0-0; Vanessa Fortes 8-0-3;
Jessica Horton 1-0-0; Stacey Ray 1-3-1; Shawna Voigt 0-1-0; Sonya Hunt
0-1-0; Alexis Rowles 0-1-0; Totals 56-6-4.0. (Assists) - Stacey Ray
50. (Dig leaders) - Holli Cadenhead 12; Alexis Rowles 12; Vivian Lacy
8

Site: Wingate, N.C. (Cuddy Arena)
Date: 11/3/06 Attend: 160 Time: 1:40
Referees: Mike Fulk, Charlie Yang
2006 Food Lion SAC Tournament Quarterfinals
No. 5 Carson-Newman advances to semifinal against
No. 1 Wingate at 4 p.m. Friday.

Lenoir-Rhyne sweeps Presbyterian, 3-0

Wingate, N.C.----The Lenoir-Rhyne College volleyball team advances to the semifinals of the 2006 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Tournament by virtue of its 3-0 (30-23, 30-25, 31-29) first round victory over Presbyterian College Friday afternoon on the campus of Wingate University.

The second-seeded Bears (24-12 overall) will now face number three seed Catawba College at 7 p.m. in Cuddy Arena. The Catawba Indians defeated the sixth-seeded Indians of Newberry College 3-0 to advance to the semis.

The other semifinal match at 4 p.m. will feature the top-seeded Bulldogs of host Wingate and number five seed Carson-Newman College.

Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first game which the Bears never relinquished en route to their 30-23 win. Bear sophomore outside hitter Abby Smith (Virginia Beach, Va.) served four aces in L-R's 8-1 run. The Bears' only representative on All-SAC First Team, Smith would go on to finish the match with six aces.

SAC All-Freshman selection Jordan Ledford (Newton, N.C.) notched five kills and the Bears hit .273 in game two to stake a 2-0 margin in the match.

The third and deciding game was heavily contested with seven tie scores and four lead changes. Presbyterian (9-25 overall) took charge as the Blue Hose posted a 5-1 margin, forcing L-R to call a timeout. The Bears responded with a 6-3 run to knot the game at 8-8.

PC pushed onward and regained the lead at 13-8 as L-R called its second timeout. Three kills and a service ace from Smith helped the Bears forge ahead of the Blue Hose at 23-21. Presbyterian would play catch-up from this point on, finally tying the game at 29-29. Back-to-back Blue Hose attacking errors gave L-R the win.

The 2006 Co-SAC Volleyball Scholar-Athlete of the Year, senior Kathryn Phillips (Lexington, N.C.) tallied 11 kills in the Bear win, hitting an impressive .579 for the match. Junior libero Catherine Fulton (Hendersonville, N.C.) recorded 12 digs for the victors.

Phillips was also selected to the All-SAC Second Team and was joined on the squad by junior setter Lauren McLelland (Statesville, N.C.) and sophomore outside hitter Katie Novacek (Raleigh, N.C.).

Freshman Julie Hollrah (Glenwood, Md.), a SAC All-Freshman Squad member, was the only Blue Hose to register double-digit kills with a game-high 12. Presbyterian junior Lauren Mason (Peachtree City, Ga.) had 10 digs.

2006 Food Lion SAC Volleyball Tournament
Presbyterian College vs Lenoir-Rhyne College (11/3/06 at Wingate, N.C.)

Lenoir-Rhyne def. Presbyterian 3-0 (30-23,30-25,31-29)

Presbyterian (9-25) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Julie Hollrah 12-0-4; Justine Lanchester 9-2-7; Danielle Gill 5-2-0; Lauren Mason 5-0-0; Courtney Van Dusen 3-0-1; Jodi Palmer 1-2-0; Rachel Lewis 0-0-2; Totals 35-6-9.0. (Assists) - Rachel Lewis 31. (Dig leaders) - Lauren Mason 10; Jodi Palmer 9; Rachel Lewis 9

Lenoir-Rhyne (24-12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Kathryn Phillips 11-0-3; Abby Smith 8-6-3; Jordan Ledford 7-1-0; Katie Novacek 5-1-3; Katie Sloan 4-0-2; Catherine Fulton 1-0-0; Lauren McLelland 1-2-1; Natalie Krause 0-1-0; Totals 37-11-7.0. (Assists) - Lauren McLelland 30. (Dig leaders) - Catherine Fulton 12; Natalie Krause 7

Site: Wingate, N.C. (Cuddy Arena)
Date: 11/3/06 Attend: 88 Time: 1:11
Referees: Tad Watson, Dennis Branch
2006 Food Lion SAC Tournament Quarterfinals
No. 2 Lenoir-Rhyne advances to semifinals against No. 3 Catawba at 7 p.m. Friday...

Catawba knocks out Newberry

Wingate, N.C.----Catawba College defeated Newberry College in three games Friday in the first round of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference volleyball tournament at Wingate. The games scores were 30-26, 30-16, 33-31.

Newberry's season ends at 4-30 overall. Catawba improves to 19-11 overall and will face Lenoir-Rhyne College in the semi-final round of the Food Lion SAC tournament Friday night at 7p.m. The winners of the semi-final round will face off in the tournament championship on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. All games are played in Cuddy Arena on the campus of Wingate University.

Sophomore outside hitter Melissa Powers (Bennett, N.C.) and Melissa Griffith (Williamsburg, Va.) each had 18 kills for the Catawba Indians. Powers had a big day for Catawba, with no attack errors in 29 attempts for a .621 hitting percentage. She added three blocks, three digs and two aces. Griffith registered a team-high 15 digs. Setter Andi Henderson (Swansboro, N.C.) had 47 assists with three aces, three blocks and 10 digs.

Newberry jumped to a 4-1 lead in the opening game, but Catawba scored four straight points, two on Griffith kills and another on an ace by Powers, to take the lead. The game was tied at 20-20 when Griffith killed a point and Powers added back-to-back kills for a 23-20 Catawba advantage. Catawba led 27-25 when Griffith sandwiched a pair of kills around a Powers ace to win the game.

Powers had three kills in an early seven-point run in game two that helped Catawba race to a 15-8 lead. Catawba later used a five-point surge, capped by an ace by Nikki Bozick (Boca Raton, Fla.), to grab a 25-13 lead. Powers would kill off the game point.

In the final game, an ace by Henderson gave Catawba a 24-18 lead only to see Newberry fight back to tie the match at 27-27 on an ace by senior setter Jessica Lopez (Madison, Wisc.). Newberry junior outside hitter Laurie Barman (Madison, Wisc.) put Newberry on top at 29-28 with a kill, but a serve error helped stave off a game point.

A block by Henderson and Powers gave Catawba a one-point lead with senior outside hitter Jessica Lipsi (Sao Paulo, Brazil) killing a point for Newberry to tie things at 30-30. Lipsi would follow a kill by Catawba freshman outside hitter Mai Zoua Lo (Hickory, N.C.) to even the game at 31-31, but Lo had another kill which was followed by a Powers kill to end the match.

Lipsi led Newberry with a dozen kills, while Barman added nine. Newberry freshman outside hitter Lorena Maia (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) posted 16 digs with Lipsi adding 14. Newberry freshman setter Kilee Ruppe (Spartanburg, S.C.) had 28 assists and three aces.

2006 Food Lion SAC Volleyball Tournament
Newberry vs Catawba (Nov 03, 2006 at Wingate, N.C.)

Catawba def. Newberry 3-0 (30-26, 30-16, 33-31)

Newberry (4-30) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Jessica Lipsi 12-1-0; Laurie Barman
9-0-1; Lorena Maia 8-0-1; Cara Coleman 7-1-0; Jessica Lopez 5-2-0;
Kilee Ruppe 1-3-0; Jennamarie Lesky 1-0-0; Totals 43-7-1.0. (Assists)
- Kilee Ruppe 28. (Dig leaders) - Lorena Maia 16; Jessica Lipsi 14;
Jennamarie Lesky 10

Catawba(19-11) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Melissa Griffith 18-0-0; Melissa
Powers 18-2-3; Mai Zoua Lo 10-3-0; Amanda Nantz 5-0-2; Andi Henderson
3-3-3; Jessica Cleary 2-0-2; Missy Bartholomew 1-0-0; Tiffany Andrassy
0-1-0; Nikki Bozick 0-1-0; Totals 57-10-5.0. (Assists) - Andi
Henderson 47. (Dig leaders) - Melissa Griffith 15; Missy Bartholomew
11; Andi Henderson 10

Site: Wingate, N.C. (Cuddy Arena)
Date: Nov 03, 2006 Attend: 67 Time: 1:23
Referees: Steve Shepherd, Ed Phillips