Flagler Knocks Out Wingate In NCAA Volleyball Tournament

WINGATE, N.C. -- The Flagler College Saints defeated Wingate University 3-1 Sunday night in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional championship match in Cuddy Arena. Flagler won by scores of 27-25, 18-25, 25-19 and 25-14 to improve to 35-8 overall and advances to the national quarterfinals.

The Bulldogs end their season 36-2 overall. The Saints have now won 28 consecutive matches, while Wingate's 24-match winning streak comes to an end.

Junior middle blocker Meg Weathersby (Maitland, Fla.) led the Saints with 18 kills. She added nine digs and four blocks. Senior outside hitter Justine Burkhardt (St. Augustine, Fla.) contributed 14 kills and 26 digs, while freshman middle blocker Rachel Stacy (Orlando, Fla.) had 12 kills and five blocks.

Flagler sophomore setter Olivia Snipes (Easley, S.C.) collected 24 assists and 17 digs, while junior setter Rebecca Royal (Green Cove Springs, Fla.) notched 24 assists, three kills and two blocks. Sophomore defensive specialist Jillian Unitas (Baldwin, Md.) added 20 digs for the Saints.

Junior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) led the Wingate attack with 16 kills. Her statistics line included 13 digs and three blocks. Senior outside hitter Jacki Emmenecker (Perrysburg, Ohio) added 11 kills for the Bulldogs.

Bulldog junior middle blocker Rebecca Bloemer (Louisville, Ky.) had eight kills, while freshman middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) added seven kills. Sophomore setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) had 33 assists and 14 digs, while sophomore libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) notched 26 digs.

"I am so proud of this year's team and all we accomplished," Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. "I believe this was my most rewarding and fulfilling coaching experience of my entire career, because we had such an awesome group of motivated players."

"With this group, we set records that will never be broken," Collier acknowledges. "Tonight, we played with much determination, but Flagler was the better team tonight."

Flagler used a 7-0 run to take a 15-8 lead in the fourth set. Royal got it started with a kill, while Beale contributed a block and a kill in the spurt. Back-to-back Emmenecker kills, along with a block from Gale and freshman outside hitter Katie Handy (Palos Verdes, Calif.) cut the lead to 17-12.

The Saints answered with four consecutive points, capped by a Burkhardt kill to make it 21-12. The Bulldogs would get no closer than eight the rest of the way, with Burkhardt and Weathersby capping the match with a block. Flagler hit .190 in the final set, while holding Wingate to a .018 percentage.

A Stacy kill gave the Saints a 17-10 lead in the third set. Wingate cut the deficit to 22-17 on a kill from Handy, but the Bulldogs would get no closer down the stretch.

Burkhardt sandwiched two kills around a Handy kill to complete the third set. Burkhardt and Weathersby had five kills each in the frame. Burkhardt hit .364 in the third set and contributed eight digs. Gale hit .417 in the third set with a team-high five kills.

In the second set, Wingate benefitted from 11 Flagler hitting errors and four Saint service errors to take the 25-18 victory. A Beale kill put the Saints up 10-7. The Bulldogs answered with an 8-1 run to take a 15-11 lead. Emmenecker had two kills in the 8-1 flurry. Flagler had five attack errors during the Wingate rally. The Saints hit .020 in the second set.

The first set featured 13 ties and three lead changes. Gale contributed a kill and an ace to put the Bulldogs up 17-13. Flagler answered with an 8-3 flurry to take a 21-20 lead on a Wingate error. Burkhardt contributed three huge kills to the run. Fittingly, Burkhardt finished the frame with a kill.

Weathersby had a set-high six kills in the first set. Stacy contributed five kills, while Gale and Emmenecker had five kills each for the Bulldogs. The Saints hit .439 in the opening stanza, compared to .261 for the Bulldogs.

Flagler hit .215 for the match, with 62 kills and 23 errors in 181 attacks. The Bulldogs hit .135, collecting 49 kills against 24 errors in 185 attacks. Each team had four aces, with Weathersby leading Flagler with two and Gale notching two for Wingate.

The Saints will represent the Southeast Region in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. Flagler will take on Dowling, the East Region champion. The Elite Eight begins Thursday, Dec. 3 at a site to be determined.

Photo gallery

NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Volleyball
All-Tournament team
Katie-Marie Legg, Lees-McRae
Kaitlyn Whitmer, Catawba
Carly Mozgai, Carson-Newman
Jessica Schachleiter, Carson-Newman
Casey Howett, Armstrong Atlantic State
Kristin Standhardinger, Armstrong Atlantic State
Stormi Gale, Wingate
Grace Krauser, Wingate
Maggie Malone, Wingate
Katie Beale, Flagler
Justine Burkhardt, Flagler
Meg Weathersby, Flagler