Wingate’s Abby Saehler Earns AVCA Honorable Mention All-American Honors

Lexington, Ky.----Wingate University senior right-side hitter Abby Saehler (Iowa City, Iowa) has been named an honorable mention All-American by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA). Saehler earns All-American accolades for the second time in her career. A third team All-American in 2014, Saehler is the only player from the South Atlantic Conference to earn All-American recognition this season.

"We are all very happy for Abby being selected for this honor and we are proud of her for having a senior season that was deserving of this recognition," head coach Shelton Collier says. "She had a significant increase in her level of responsibility this year playing a new position that she had never played before. She was also coming back from a major knee surgery, so it is special for her to receive such a prestigious honor."

This marks the 10th consecutive season a Wingate player has earned All-American consideration. The first was in 2007, when Melissa DeLuca was an AVCA honorable mention All-American. Stormi Gale was an honorable mention All-American in 2008, while earning All-American accolades from Daktronics and the AVCA in 2009 and 2010. Lauren Billo and Maggie Malone were also honorable mention All-Americans in 2009. Liz Willis was a third team All-American in 2011, while Anna Hilton earned honorable mention accolades in 2011, then earned third team honors in 2012. In 2013, Hilton became the first player in Wingate or SAC history to earn AVCA first team All-American honors, while Lexi Potter became the first-ever AVCA second team All-American in Wingate or SAC history. Saehler and Alison Cooke were third team AVCA All-Americans in 2014, with Potter earning honorable mention accolades. In 2015, Shelly Stumpff was an honorable mention All-American.

Saehler has been piling up the awards throughout her career. A three-time All-SAC and All-Region selection, Saehler was an AVCA third team All-American in 2014, the first sophomore in Wingate or SAC history to be named to an AVCA All-American team. She earned first team All-SAC and All-Region accolades this season, while also being named the SAC Tournament MVP. Saehler led the Bulldogs and ranked second in the conference with 3.36 kills per set, ranking 12th in the league with a .261 hitting percentage. Saehler also finished second on the team with 316 digs and third with 29 aces.

Saehler collected double-digit kills 24 times on the year, notching 12 double-doubles. She hit .378 with 17 kills and 11 digs in the USC Aiken win, while hitting .441 with 17 kills, six digs and five blocks in the Armstrong victory. Saehler piled up 18 kills and 14 digs in the Flagler win, while hitting .524 with 14 kills and eight digs in the LMU sweep. After hitting .542 with 14 kills and seven digs in the Carson-Newman sweep, Saehler hit .483 with 17 kills and 13 digs in the Anderson sweep. She had 16 kills, 18 digs and four blocks in the win at Mars Hill, while hitting .333 with 18 kills and eight digs. Saehler had 15 kills and 18 digs in the Catawba win, hitting .371. She hit .312 with 14 kills and four blocks in the Tusculum sweep, while collecting 16 kills and six digs with a .353 hitting percentage against TC in the SAC Tournament quarterfinals. Saehler had 16 kills and 11 digs in the SAC semifinal win over Queens, while hitting .452 with 15 kills and 11 digs in the SAC title match against LMU.

Saehler helped lead the Bulldogs to an 11th consecutive regular season SAC title, while also leading Wingate to a 10th SAC Tournament championship in 11 years. The Bulldogs went 29-6 overall after going 18-4 in the SAC. Wingate earned a 12th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2016.