Wingate, Lincoln Memorial Advance To Championship Of Food Lion SAC Volleyball Tournament

MARS HILL, N.C. -- The Wingate University Bulldogs defeated Newberry College 3-1 Friday afternoon in the semifinals of the 2008 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference volleyball tournament at Stanford Arena. The Bulldogs won 26-24, 19-25, 25-17 and 25-22 to improve to 29-1 overall. Wingate will play for its third consecutive Food Lion SAC tournament title Saturday at 11:30 a.m. against the winner of the Lincoln Memorial University versus Carson-Newman College match. Newberry falls to18-13.

Sophomore middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) led the Bulldogs with 17 kills, 12 digs and six assists. The first team All-SAC performer hit .438 for the match, notching her second consecutive double-double. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) added 16 kills while hitting .412.

Wingate senior outside hitter Kathryn Reddick (Franklinton, N.C.) and sophomore outside hitter Heather Myklebust (Sugar Land, Texas) contributed with 10 kills each. Freshman setter Liz Willis filled up the stat sheet with 50 assists, 11 digs and four kills, while freshman libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) collected 19 digs.

Junior outside hitter Lorena Maia (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) and senior outside hitter Priscila Sales (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) had 13 kills each to lead the Newberry attack. Sophomore setter Brianna Blakely (Houston, Texas) racked up 35 assists and 19 digs, while sophomore libero Nadia Andrade (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) added 14 digs.

"We are very pleased to be playing in the championship match Saturday," Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. "We had some great performances today from Billo, Reddick and Gale. We hope to carry some positive momentum into the finals Saturday."

The first set was tightly contested, with neither team taking a lead larger than two. A kill from sophomore outside hitter Kara Harris (Grandview, Texas) gave Newberry a 19-17 lead. The scarlet-and-gray would regain a two-point lead on another Harris kill to make it 20-18.

A kill from Gale would cut the lead to one at 20-19; the Bulldogs would tie the frame at 21 on a kill from Willis. Newberry took a 24-23 lead on a kill from junior right side hitter Dani Hroblak (Lake Wylie, S.C.). The Bulldogs answered by scoring the final three points of the set. Gale got it started with a kill, followed by a block from Gale and Billo. Wingate finished the set on a Newberry error.

Newberry opened up a 12-7 lead in the second set on a kill from Sales. A kill from Billo, followed by a block from Gale and Myklebust cut the lead to three. An ace from Sales gave Newberry a 15-10 advantage. Kills from Reddick and Myklebust again cut the lead to three.

Wingate cut the lead to two at 16-14 on a kill from Billo. Newberry had the answer, scoring the next five points to take a 21-14 lead. Harris had a pair of aces in the crucial run for the scarlet-and-gray. Wingate would get no closer than five the rest of the way. Maia concluded the set with a kill.

The Bulldogs used a 7-0 run in the third set to turn a one-point lead into a 20-12 advantage. Gale had a pair of kills to spark the run. Newberry responded by scoring the next four points to make it 20-16. Hroblak capped the spurt with an ace.

Wingate had the answer, scoring the next three points to make it 23-16. Gale started the run with a kill, while Malone finished the spurt with a kill. Newberry would get no closer than six the rest of the way; Wingate sophomore middle blocker Rebecca Bloemer (Louisville, Ky.) completed the set with a kill.

A kill from Reddick followed by an ace from Gale gave the Bulldogs a 9-4 lead in the fourth set. Newberry fought back to tie the set at 12 on a kill from Hroblak. The teams would then trade points until a Billo kill gave Wingate a 21-19 lead. A kill from Maia, followed by a block from Maia and Hroblak tied the set at 22. The Bulldogs had the answer, getting back-to-back kills from Reddick to take a 24-22 lead. The Bulldogs posted their 25th point following a Newberry error.

Wingate hit .299 for the match, with 64 kills and 18 errors in 154 attacks. Newberry hit .217, with 47 kills and 17 errors in 138 attacks. Newberry had nine aces, led by Harris with three. The Bulldogs had five aces, led by Willis with two.

Lincoln Memorial 3, Carson-Newman 2

No. 6-seed Lincoln Memorial pulled off its second consecutive upset victory of the 2008 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Tournament Friday night inside Stanford Arena. The Lady Railsplitters shocked No. 2-seed Carson-Newman in five games by scores of 25-21, 16-25, 22-25, 25-19 and 15-11. Lincoln Memorial improves to 21-12. The Eagles drop to 24-14.

Three players posted double-doubles for the Lady Railsplitters. Ashley Knight (Palm Harbor, Fla.) recorded 16 kills and 13 digs. Amanda Horenkamp (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) registered 10 kills and 26 digs. Lauren Kiwacka (Tipp City, Ohio) had 13 digs and 36 assists. Alicia MacIntyre (Muncie, Ind.) was a force for Lincoln Memorial's defense with 22 digs.

Like Lincoln Memorial three Carson-Newman players had double-double efforts. Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) posted 15 kills and 16 digs. Jessica Schachleiter (Cincinnati, Ohio) turned in 12 kills and 25 digs. Stephanie Cutter (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) netted 18 digs and 35 assists. Kelsey Fleck (Celina, Ohio) was an offensive machine for the Eagles, posting 20 kills. Jessica Brady (Fruitland Park, Fla.) recorded double-digit kills with 11. Haley Bush (Spartanburg, S.C.) and Salem Stepp's (Morristown, Tenn.) defensive efforts landed them with 23 digs and 10 digs, respectively.

After not having won a SAC tournament game since 1994, Lincoln Memorial has now won two tournament games in the last two days. The Lady Railsplitters also defeated Carson-Newman for the first time this season after dropping two matches to the Eagles in the regular season in straight sets.

Both teams started tight in the early going of the first set and were unable to establish momentum. A service ace by MacIntyre gave Lincoln Memorial an 8-5 lead. Back-to-back kills by Fleck tied the game at point 12. Later in the game, an attack error by Mary Kate Work (Cleveland, Tenn.) gave Lincoln Memorial a 19-17 lead. An attack error by Katie Troyer (Plain City, Ohio) gave the Lady Railsplitters the first set victory.

Carson-Newman responded by dominating the second set. A spike by Mozgai gave the Eagles a 3-1 lead in the early going. Back-to-back service aces by Troyer ran the lead to 7-2. Three straight points by Lincoln Memorial cut the Carson-Newman lead to 7-5, but the Eagles ran off six straight points during a spurt to lead 19-9 midway through the second game. A kill by Brady gave Carson-Newman the second game win and tied the match at one apiece.

The third set started much like the previous one. A service ace by Troyer gave the Eagles a 4-1 lead. Lincoln Memorial tied the game at point five on an attack error by Work and regained the lead 6-5 on a kill by Kodi Cartwright (Layton, Utah). The game remained neck and neck. A service error by Mozgai gave Lincoln Memorial a 15-14 lead. Carson-Newman regrouped and a kill by Mozgai gave the Eagles a 21-19 lead. Mozgai added a spike to give Carson-Newman a 23-21 lead. A final kill by Brady finished off the Lady Railsplitters in game three to give Carson-Newman a 2-1 match lead.

The two teams were tied in the fourth set at point seven off an attack error by Horenkamp. Lincoln Memorial began to gain the upper hand and held a 13-9 lead off a setting error by Mozgai. The Lady Railsplitters took a 15-10 lead off a spike by Knight. Carson-Newman rallied to tie the game at point 17 off a service ace by Allyson Corhn (Hendersonville, N.C.). However Lincoln Memorial responded and reeled off seven straight points to end the game, culminated by a service ace from Krysten Adsuara (Aiea, Hawaii).

With the match tied 2-2 and the final game up for grabs, Lincoln Memorial displayed the better set of hands. The Lady Railsplitters won the first two points off attack errors by Fleck and Mozgai. Lincoln Memorial held a three-point lead at 5-2 off a spike by Knight. The Lady Railsplitters led at the midway point of the set 8-5 off a kill from Alison Hess (Dayton, Ohio). Lincoln Memorial increased its margin to five points at 11-6 off a kill from Horenkamp. Winning 14-11, the Lady Railsplitters' second consecutive surprise victory of the tournament was sealed with a service error by Stepp.

No. 6-seed Lincoln Memorial will play top-seed and two-time defending SAC Tournament Champion Wingate Saturday at 11:30 a.m.