Wingate Captures Food Lion SAC Volleyball Title With 3-0 Win Over Carson-Newman

November 10, 2007

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. -- The Wingate University Bulldogs won their second consecutive South Atlantic Conference Tournament title, defeating the Carson-Newman College Eagles 3-0 (30-27, 30-25, 30-17) Saturday evening at Holt Fieldhouse. The Bulldogs improve to 33-1 overall, winning their 24th consecutive match. The Eagles fall to 23-11.

Wingate freshman middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas), the 2007 SAC Freshman of the Year, led the way with 13 kills and 12 digs. Gale hit .343 in the match, committing just one error. Fellow freshman and first team All-SAC performer Rebecca Bloemer (Louisville, Ky.) had 10 kills. Senior setter Melissa DeLuca (Bahama, N.C.), another first team all-conference performer, handed out 38 assists while collecting seven digs and five kills. Sophomore libero Chelsea Cancelliere (Richboro, Pa.) also had 12 digs for the Bulldogs.

DeLuca was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. She averaged 12.89 assists per game, while also collecting 24 digs. Gale and Bloemer were also named to the all-tournament team for the Bulldogs.

Sophomore middle blocker Katie Troyer (Plain City, Ohio) and senior outside hitter Kelsey Fleck (Celina, Ohio) had 11 kills apiece for the Eagles. Sophomore setter Stephanie Cutter (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) handed out 21 assists. Junior libero Salem Stepp (Morristown, Tenn.) had a game-high 20 digs.

The first game would be tight, with six ties and two lead changes. The Bulldogs got out to a 6-3 lead on a kill from Gale. The Eagles came back to tie it at 10, then took a 14-13 lead on a Wingate service error. A kill from Heather Myklebust (Sugar Land, Texas) and an ace from Gale gave the Bulldogs a 16-14 lead. They eventually stretched the lead to four at 20-16 on a Carson-Newman attack error. The Eagles got back-to-back kills from Fleck and Cutter to cut the lead to one at 22-21. Wingate responded with a kill from Gale. The lead would not get below three the rest of the way, DeLuca had a kill for a 29-26 lead, the game was then finished off on a Carson-Newman delay of game. Wingate hit .318 in the first game, the Eagles hit .429.

The second game saw the Eagles jump out to a 5-1 lead. The Bulldogs had three attack errors, and Nikki James (Cookeville, Tenn.) added a kill. Wingate fought back to tie it at seven on a kill from Kathryn Reddick (Franklinton, N.C.). The game would stay within two points until a Wingate attack error gave Carson-Newman a 20-17 lead. The bulldogs scored the next three points to tie the game at 20, getting a kill from Reddick and an ace from Brittany Horner (Roxboro, N.C.). The Eagles responded with a kill from Kelli Sorensen (Maple Grove, Minn.), then a Wingate attack error made it 22-20. The Bulldogs scored the next three points to take the lead, with a kill from Bloemer capping the rally. The game would be tied for a final time at 24 thanks to another Bloemer kill. Wingate then scored the next three points for a 27-24 lead, the last coming on a kill from Gale. Gale finished it off with a kill for a 30-25 win. Wingate hit .043 in the second game, the Eagles hit .098. The game featured 14 ties and eight lead changes.

The Bulldogs jumped out to the early lead in the third game, building an 8-1 lead. The Eagles cut it to three at 10-7 on a Wingate attack error. The bulldogs rebuilt the lead to seven on a kill from Bloemer. The lead got down to four one more time on a kill from Sorensen to make it 17-13. The Bulldogs scored the next three points, getting kills from Reddick and Myklebust to go with a Carson-Newman attack error. Wingate would continue to stretch the lead, with the match ending on a kill from senior Rachelle Rostas (Charlotte, N.C.). Wingate hit .208 in the final game, Carson-Newman hit .017.

"Our players really worked hard to prepare for this tournament." Said head coach Shelton Collier. "We played well in all three matches, but even more important is this group really practiced well all season and kept improving. Carson-Newman had an exciting run to win the quarterfinals and semifinals, and they brought a lot of emotion to the finals. We had to step up and keep our composure. This is a special team, that had a special season."

"I couldn't be more proud of our team this weekend," said C-N head coach Shannon Mincey."We didn't finish out as well as we wanted in the conference but pressed on our team unity and coming together to overcome playing three very tough teams in our conference this weekend. Our fans stepped up to show their support of our team and we are so appreciative of that. Wingate has had an amazing year only having 1 loss on their season. They are consistent and keep the offense moving. I enjoyed coaching against Coach Collier in the finals. Our team wishes their team the best in representing our conference in the regional tournament this week."

Wingate hit .189 for the match (48 kills, 21 errors, 143 attempts. The Eagles hit .132 for the match (38 kills, 21 errors, 129 attempts). Carson-Newman had nine blocks, getting four solo blocks from James. Wingate had six blocks, getting two block assists from DeLuca, Gale and Bloemer.

For the second straight season, the Bulldogs win the SAC title with three sweeps. Wingate has not lost a game in the conference tournament in its last six matches. The Bulldogs receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Regional. The pairings will be announced Sunday night.

Volleyball Box Score
Carson-Newman vs Wingate University (Nov 10, 2007 at Jefferson City, Tenn)

Carson-Newman | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Kelli Sorensen...... 3| 7 3 29 .138| 0| 0 0| 0| 7| 1 1 0| 2
9 Stephanie Cutter.... 3| 1 1 8 .000| 21| 0 2| 0| 7| 0 0 0| 4
14 Katie Troyer........ 3| 11 2 22 .409| 1| 1 2| 0| 5| 1 2 1| 0
15 Kelsey Fleck........ 3| 11 5 29 .207| 2| 1 1| 0| 6| 0 0 0| 0
17 Nikki James......... 3| 3 2 13 .077| 1| 0 0| 1| 2| 4 1 0| 0
21 Carly Mozgai........ 3| 5 4 18 .056| 1| 0 0| 1| 3| 0 1 0| 0
1 Salem Stepp......... 3| 0 0 3 .000| 0| 0 1| 0| 20| 0 0 0| 0
8 Caitlin Schlegel.... 3| 0 3 4 -.750| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 1 0| 0
11 Allyson Corhn....... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 11| 0 0| 0| 2| 0 0 0| 1
13 Haley Bush.......... 3| 0 1 2 -.500| 0| 0 0| 1| 9| 0 0 0| 0
23 Vanessa Kinsler..... 2| 0 0 1 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0
TEAM................ | | | | 3| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............. 3| 38 21 129 .132| 37| 2 6| 6| 61| 6 6 1| 7

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 9.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 15 3 28 .429 GAME SCORES 1 2 3 TEAM RECORDS
2 13 9 41 .098 Carson-Newman....... 27 25 17 23-11
3 10 9 60 .017 Wingate University.. 30 30 30 33-1

Wingate University | ATTACK |SET| SERVE |SRV|DEF| BLOCK |GEN
## Name GP| K E TA PCT| A| SA SE| RE|DIG|BS BA BE|BHE
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Melissa DeLuca...... 3| 5 1 12 .333| 38| 1 1| 0| 7| 0 2 0| 1
3 Heather Myklebust... 3| 8 3 23 .217| 0| 1 0| 0| 4| 0 0 0| 0
8 Amanda Siegrist..... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 1| 2| 7| 0 0 0| 0
9 Kathryn Reddick..... 3| 4 2 11 .182| 1| 0 0| 0| 4| 0 1 0| 0
13 Rachelle Rostas..... 3| 8 8 29 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 2| 1 1 0| 0
14 Stormi Gale......... 3| 13 1 35 .343| 2| 2 1| 0| 12| 1 2 0| 0
4 Brittany Horner..... 3| 0 0 0 .000| 1| 1 1| 0| 10| 0 0 0| 0
6 Lauren Billo........ 1| 0 1 3 -.333| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0
7 Chelsea Cancelliere. 3| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 1 2| 0| 12| 0 0 0| 0
10 Rebecca Bloemer..... 3| 10 5 30 .167| 1| 0 0| 0| 2| 0 2 0| 1
11 Jacki Emmenecker.... 1| 0 0 0 .000| 0| 0 0| 0| 0| 0 0 0| 0
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals.............. 3| 48 21 143 .189| 43| 6 6| 2| 60| 2 8 0| 2

TEAM ATTACK PER GAME TOTAL TEAM BLOCKS: 6.0
Game K E TA Pct
1 20 6 44 .318 Site: Jefferson City, Tenn (Holt Fieldhouse)
2 13 11 46 .043 Date: Nov 10, 2007 Attend: 192 Time: 1:28
3 15 4 53 .208 Referees: Diane Penner, Brian Jones

2007 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference All-Tournament Team

Melissa Powers, Catawba
Laurie Barman, Newberry
Katie Troyer, Carson-Newman
Kelsey Fleck, Carson-Newman
Rebecca Bloemer, Wingate
Stormi Gale, Wingate
*Melissa DeLuca

* Tournament MVP