Wingate, Tusculum Advance To Food Lion SAC Volleyball Championship
SALISBURY, N.C. -- Wingate University, the four-time champion, advanced to the championship of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Tournament with a 3-0 victory over Carson-Newman College. The Bulldogs will face second-seed Tusculum College, which rallied from an 0-2 deficit to beat Lincoln Memorial University 3-2.
Wingate and Tusculum will meet in the tournament championship on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be videostreamed live. Click here to watch.
Wingate 3, Carson-Newman 0
Wingate University senior outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) had 16 kills to lead the top-seeded Bulldogs past the fourth-seeded Carson-Newman College Eagles 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-19), in SAC semifinal action Saturday afternoon in Goodman Gymnasium at Catawba College.
The Bulldogs win their 25th consecutive match, and improve to 27-1 overall. Carson-Newman falls to 19-10 overall.
The Bulldogs advance to the SAC championship match for the seventh time in eight seasons. Wingate has won four consecutive SAC Tournament titles. The 'Dogs are 20-2 in the tournament since 2003, winning five titles. Wingate is now 127-7 overall since the start of the 2007 season, good for a .948 winning percentage which leads all of Division II.
Billo hit .316 on the afternoon, while adding six digs. Senior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) added 12 kills and 13 digs for the Bulldogs. Freshman outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added seven kills and 15 digs. Junior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) had 37 assists and 11 digs, while junior libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) collected 12 digs.
"We obviously played at a much higher level today than we did in the quarterfinals," head coach Shelton Collier says. "We played with a lot of confidence, and really bounced back well after nearly being eliminated in the first round Friday. We will be taking some good momentum into the championship match tomorrow."
Senior outside hitter Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) had 10 kills to lead the Carson-Newman attack. Freshman outside hitter Lindsey Bryant (Gainesville, Ga.) added nine kills, while junior outside hitter Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.) chipped in with eight kills. Senior setter Lara McDonald (Salem, Va.) handed out 28 assists, while sophomore libero Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) notched 14 digs.
Kills by McGowan and Willis gave the 'Dogs a 12-5 lead in the opening set. A kill from sophomore middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) made it 17-9. A Mozgai kill, followed by a block from Bryant cut the lead to five at 20-15. Kills from Gale and Krauser pushed the lead back to seven at 23-16. McGowan capped the opening frame with a kill.
Three McGowan kills gave Wingate a 13-7 lead in the second set. The Eagles fought back, cutting the lead to one at 16-15 on kills from Swisher and Mozgai. Back-to-back Willis kills pushed Wingate's lead back to three at 18-15. Carson-Newman tied the set at 20 on an ace from Mozgai. The 'Dogs took a 22-21 lead on a Billo kill. The Bulldogs would then turn to their All-American Gale, who tallied three consecutive kills to cap the second frame.
A 5-0 run put the Bulldogs on top 17-10 in the third set. Gale had a kill and a block in the spurt. A Mozgai kill, followed by a block from Bryant cut Wingate's lead to 21-16. Junior outside hitter Janice Ehorn (Orange, Conn.) gave the 'Dogs a 23-17 advantage with a kill. Senior middle blocker Rebecca Bloemer (Louisville, Ky.) capped the match with a kill.
The Bulldogs hit .351 for the match, with 56 kills and 10 errors in 131 attacks. Carson-Newman had 38 kills and 13 errors in 122 attacks, good for a .205 hitting percentage.
Wingate will look to claim its fifth consecutive SAC Tournament title Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs will take on Tusculum.
Lauren Billo post-match interview
Carson-Newman Coach Shannon Mincey post-match interview
Wingate Coach Shelton Collier post-match interview
Tusculum 3, Lincoln Memorial 2
SALISBURY, N.C. -- The Tusculum Pioneers dug a two-set hole then stormed back to post a five-set win over Lincoln Memorial in a semifinal match of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Volleyball Tournament on Saturday afternoon at Goodman Gym on the campus of Catawba College. The second-seeded Pioneers picked up victory, winning by the scores of 18-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20 and 15-13. Tusculum improves to 25-5 and advances to face top-seeded Wingate in Sunday's 2 p.m. championship match. The Lady Railsplitters fall to 23-7.
Tusculum held a 13-10 edge in the final set, but LMU tied things up with a kill by Ashley Knight, an ace by Brittany Pugh then a kill by Pugh. Tusculum responded, going back on top after a kill by Sam Underwood. Hannah Campbell sent the Pioneers to the final as she served up an ace on match point.
Five Pioneers reached double figures in kills with Alyssa Raterman and Bailee Price posting 15 each. Allyson Ray tallied 12 with Underwood and Rhayne Smitherman adding 11 apiece. Ashley Sarmiento handed out 52 assists, while libero Caitlyn Dean registered 37 digs.
Allyson Ray post-match interview
Lauren Kiwacka led a balanced attack for LMU, recording a triple-double with 10 kills, 17 digs and 27 assists. Kaitlin Walton had a team-high 11 kills with Knight and Candace Richardson also collecting 10 kills. Knight had a team-high 19 digs.
LMU got out of the gates quickly; leading the opening set 15-8 after a kill by Richardson. Tusculum got within three at 16-13, but kills by Pugh and Kiwacka restored the seven-point edge at 22-15. The Lady Railsplitters pulled out to a 15-9 lead in set two then held off Tusculum. Price cut the lead to a single point at 23-22 with a kill, but was followed by a service error. Knight killed off the set point to put LMU up by two sets.
Tusculum turned around a 13-10 deficit midway through set three to get back into the match. Four straight points, capped with a kill from Smithman, put the Pioneers up 14-13. A kill by Price stretched the lead to 19-14. Lincoln Memorial got close at 23-21 on a kill from Knight before kills from Ray and Raterman closed out the set.
A six-point run midway through the fourth set gave Tusculum a 17-12 edge it kept the rest of the set. Lincoln Memorial closed within three points several times late in the set, but could not get any closer and the teams went to the deciding fifth set where Tusculum never trailed.