Five SAC Volleyball Players Named To ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Teams

BRISTOL, Conn. -- Five volleyball stuendt-athletes from the South Atlantic Conference have been named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III or IV volleyball first team (college division), selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Wingate led the way with three first-team selections to the District III team.

The members of the College Sports Information Directors of America selected the players for these honors. Nineteen student-athletes were named to either the first, second or third ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III volleyball team (college division). The eight first team members will advance to the national ballot.

Chelsea Cancelliere

Stormi Gale

Rebecca Bloemer

Melissa Powers

Heather MacArthur

The District III College Division consists of all non-NCAA Division I colleges and universities in Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Virginia. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore with a 3.3 cumulative grade point average and must be a starter or a significant reserve on her team. District IV includes colleges and universities in Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, Ohio and Michigan.

Wingate University

Wingate, N.C. -- Three Wingate University student-athletes have been named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III volleyball first team (college division), selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Bulldog junior libero Chelsea Cancelliere (Richboro, Pa.) and sophomore middle blockers Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) and Rebecca Bloemer (Louisville, Ky.) represent Wingate on the eight-member first team.

Wingate is one of only three schools nationwide with three ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District first team members. The other schools with three first team members are the University of Nebraska (University Division, District VII) and Texas Woman's University (College Division, District VI).

"In recent years, our team has certainly had some great success on the court," Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. "We have also had several players receive some very prestigious national academic honors as well."

"We are so proud of Chelsea, Stormi and Rebecca for their outstanding academic performance and for receiving such notable academic recognition," Collier adds. "All three are having excellent seasons in terms of volleyball performance. We are so pleased that they are also receiving these academic honors as well."

Cancelliere is a repeat performer, as she was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III volleyball second team in 2007. Cancelliere is a Sport Management major with a stellar 3.98 GPA.

A defensive specialist, Cancelliere is third on the 2008 Wingate team charts with 190 digs. She is tied for second with 29 service aces. Cancelliere posted a season-high 16 digs in five-game victory over Lincoln Memorial (Oct. 3, 2008). Last year, she recorded a career-high 31 digs in a four-game road win at LMU (Oct. 6, 2007). She was second on the 2007 team in digs.

A middle blocker, Gale is a Biology major with a 3.85 GPA. In 2008, she is fifth in the SAC in kills (3.46 per set) and hitting percentage (.322). She leads the Bulldog team in both categories. Gale had 19 kills against Lander (August 30, 2008) and 18 kills on two occasions this year.

In 2007, Gale was the South Atlantic Conference Freshman of the Year. In addition, she was named to the All-SAC and All-State first teams. Gale led 2007 team with 3.47 kills per game. She had 22 matches with double-digit kills last year. Gale posted a triple-double (12 kills, 20 digs, 11 blocks) against Tusculum in 2007.

A middle blocker, Bloemer sports a perfect 4.00 GPA. She is a Communication Studies major. She is second among Wingate regulars with a .313 hitting percentage this year. In 2007, Bloemer was a first team All-SAC choice and an All-Freshman team pick. Bloemer was second on the team and third in the league with a .316 hitting percentage last season.

Wingate University led the NCAA in winning percentage in 2007, posting a .943 ledger (33-2 overall record). In the past two seasons, Wingate is 58-3 overall (through matches played Nov. 4, 2008). Wingate claimed its third consecutive South Atlantic Conference regular season title in October.

Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000's with 30 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate's 39 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,129 students, offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, international study, faith development, career discovery and community service.

Wingate offers 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physical education, physician assistant studies, sport administration and the doctor of pharmacy degree.

Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Athletic Excellence Award for the past two years.

Catawba College

SALISBURY, NC - Catawba senior middle blocker, Melissa Powers (Bennett, NC/N. Moore HS), has been named to the 2008 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III volleyball team. Powers was named to the second team for the second straight year.

An elementary education major, Powers has posted a 3.59 GPA during her first six semesters. She is a five-time member of the Dean's List and has twice been named to the Presidential Honor Roll. On the court, Powers has set school records in kills for a match, season and career and leads the team this season in kills, blocks and aces.

Tusculum College

BRISTOL, Conn. -- Tusculum College's Heather MacArthur has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV College Division Volleyball Second Team announced officials Thursday.

MacArthur, a senior middle hitter from Salt Lake City, Utah, has a cumulative grade point average of 3.90 while majoring in Business Administration and Management.

The 2008 Preseason All-South Atlantic Conference honoree leads the team in blocking, averaging 0.79 blocks per set, which is fifth in the South Atlantic Conference. MacArthur has a .286 hitting percentage while averaging 1.16 kills per set.

Since her arrival at Tusculum, she has helped the Pioneers to three straight 20-win seasons, including this year's 20-9 campaign.

Tusculum (20-9, 8-6 SAC) will close out the regular season with three home matches, beginning with Friday's 7 p.m. contest against Catawba College. TC will also host Lenoir-Rhyne University on Saturday at 11 a.m.

2008 ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT III
VOLLEYBALL TEAMS (COLLEGE DIVISION)

FIRST TEAM
Camilla Pagnan, Barry (Fla.)
Devon Woolard, Lynn
Elise Burke, Florida Southern
Chelsea Cancelliere, Wingate
Jaime Hayes, St. Andrews Presbyterian
Dani Huffman, Emory
Rebecca Bloemer, Wingate
Stormi Gale, Wingate

SECOND TEAM
Andrea Laza, UNC Pembroke
Samara Ferreira, Barry (Fla.)
Danielle Higginbotham, Florida Southern
Melissa Powers, Catawba
Rebecca Leedom, Virginia Wesleyan

THIRD TEAM
Lauren Evans, Barry
Camila Saade, Tampa
Melissa Vanderhall, Tampa
Jessica Lombardi, Francis Marion
Allison Averitt, Methodist

2008 ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT III
VOLLEYBALL TEAMS (COLLEGE DIVISION)

Ashley Burnett, Maryville (TN.)
Brittany Donelan, Heidelberg
Kara Guster, Capital
Jackie Helm, Capital
Morgan Magers, Heidelberg
Sarah Parker, Mount Union
Katie Weininger, Ohio Northern

SECOND TEAM
Christine Luerman, Transylvania
Heather MacArthur, Tusculum
Whitney Sanders, North Alabama
Liz Schnelle, Ohio Northern
Courtney Springer, Mt. Vernon Nazarene

THIRD TEAM
Christine Denning, Birmingham-Southern
Kelsey Elliott, Heidelberg
Melissa Grame, Baldwin-Wallace
Emily Hurlburt, Heidelberg
Jessica Kimble, Wittenberg
Sara Mason, Denison
Rebeccah Rapin, Grand Valley State
Lubovj Tihomirova, Madonna
Lauren Tortorici, Montevallo
Meredith Young, Grand Valley State