Wingate Earns Top Seed, Will Host NCAA Southeast Region Volleyball Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Wingate University earned the number one seed in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region volleyball tournament, officials announced Sunday night, and is one of four South Atlantic Conference volleyball teams participating in the NCAA Division II postseason.

Wingate was chosen to host the 2008 Southeast Region volleyball tournament Friday through Sunday in Cuddy Arena.

The Bulldogs will begin NCAA play Friday night, facing Anderson (S.C.) University at 7:30 p.m. Wingate is 30-1 overall on the season; the Bulldogs claimed their third consecutive Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament title over the weekend.

Wingate has been the number one team in the region in every poll this season. The Bulldogs earn their fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA post-season and their fifth journey in the last six years.

The Bulldogs have won 28 consecutive matches this season. Since the beginning of the 2007 season, Wingate has posted a 63-3 overall record. The Bulldogs have gone undefeated in the South Atlantic Conference for two consecutive years, while collecting 39 consecutive victories over SAC opponents.

"On the first day of training camp, we discussed the possibility of hosting the NCAA Tournament…the players clearly stated this as one of their goals," Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. "As a coach, I was much more focused on preparing our team to improve and win each week; however, I know the players did have this as a primary goal. We are very excited to have a chance to host the NCAA regionals for the first time in school history.

Collier believes the 2008 season has been a work in progress. "We have made significant improvement as a team over the course of the season; we are looking forward to the challenges of this weekend," Collier adds. "I know our players are confident that we will play well. They are really looking forward to the weekend."

Sophomore middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) has led the Bulldogs all season. A first team All-SAC selection for the second straight season, Gale leads the team with 3.55 kills and 0.85 blocks per set.

Gale averaged 4.36 kills and 1.45 blocks per set while hitting .448 in the Food Lion SAC tournament, earning tourney MVP honors. Sophomore outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) earned second team All-SAC honors for her performance this season. She is second on the team with 2.49 kills per set, ahead of sophomore outside hitter Heather Myklebust (Sugar Land, Texas) at 2.24 kills per set.

Freshman setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) finished second in the SAC with 9.60 assists per set, while ranking third on the team with 2.33 digs per set. Willis took home several postseason honors, earning second team All-SAC honors and All-Freshman team laurels. She was also named the SAC Freshman of the Year.

Classmate Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) was a first team all-SAC selection, while also being named to the All-SAC tournament team. She is second in the SAC with 3.86 digs per set to go along with her team-best 39 service aces. Malone joined Willis on the All-Freshman team as well.

Three other South Atlantic Conference schools earn spots in the NCAA Division II postseason. Carson-Newman College earned the number two seed and will take on fellow SAC member (and number seven seed) Lincoln Memorial University in the first round.

The Lady Eagles will face seventh-seeded and South Atlantic Conference-foe Lincoln Memorial University.

Carson-Newman (24-14) reaches the postseason the on the strength of a second place finish the SAC regular season, as well as winning 12 of its last 16 matches.

The Lady Eagles have faced LMU three times this season, winning the first two meetings 3-0 and 3-1, but dropping Friday's SAC-Tournament match, 3-2.

The Lady Eagles are the second seed behind SAC-champion Wingate University, who is the host team. The Bulldogs will host No. 8 Anderson University in the opening round.

C-N will face the winner of No.3 Armstrong Atlantic State and No. 6 Lander if it advances, and holds wins over both schools this season. No.4 Catawba and No.5 Francis Marion is the final first round matchup.

The Lady Eagles are 6-6 against the tournament field this season (LMU 2-1, Anderson 1-0, AASU 1-0, Lander 1-1, Catawba 1-1, Francis Marion 0-1, Wingate 0-2).

The appearance is the first by the Lady Eagles since 2002, when C-N lost to North Florida University in the first round.

It is the first NCAA Tournament appearance in program history for the Lady Railsplitters. The teams have met three times this season, with LMU winning the most recent meeting 3-2 in the SAC Tournament semifinals this past Friday.

The tournament appearance is another addition to an already record-breaking season for the LMU squad as they celebrated both the program's and Coach Mike Smith's 300th victories earlier this season and also made the finals of the Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament for the fir! ! st time.

LMU was ranked ninth in the region going into the conference tournament this past Thursday, but wins over third-ranked Catawba and fourth-ranked Carson-Newman in the tournament helped the Lady Railsplitters solidify a berthin the tournament.

Leading the way for LMU are juniors Amanda Horenkamp (Murfreesboro, TN) and Alicia MacIntyre (Muncie, IN). Horenkamp, who was named First Team All-SAC last week, leads the team in kills (374) and digs (442). MacIntyre led the SAC in digs per game this season and was named second team All-SAC for her efforts. Sophomore Lauren Kiwacka (Tipp City, OH) leads the team in assists with 911 on the season.

Catawba College was awarded the number four seed and will battle number five seed Francis Marion University on Friday. The other match in the region will feature number three seed Armstrong Atlantic State University taking on the number six seed Lander University.

Catawba (20-10) finished the regular season with a 20-10 record and lost in the first round of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament. Francis Marion (23-8) was swept by Armstrong Atlantic in the Peach Belt Tournament final. Catawba and Francis Marion have not met this season, but Catawba won a marathon five-setter last season when it set an NCAA record by scoring 148 points in the 36-38, 37-35, 30-32, 30-25, 15-10 win.

Catawba's only other appearance in the volleyball regionals came in 2001 when the Lady Indians were in the South Region. Catawba lost a first round match to North Florida.

All matches will take place in Cuddy Arena. The four quarterfinal matches will take place Friday, with the first match slated for a 12 noon start. Wingate's match with Anderson will finish the action on day one at 7:30 p.m.

The semifinal round Saturday will begin at 5 p.m., with game two starting at 7:30 p.m. The championship match will be Sunday night at 7 p.m. The NCAA will release official match times Monday morning.

In addition to Wingate, the other number one seeds are Grand Valley State (Midwest), New Haven (East), Concordia-St. Paul (Central), Cal State San Bernardino (West), California, Pa. (Atlantic), Emporia State (South Central) and Tampa (South).

Friday, November 21, 2008
Session #1
12 noon
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional match #1
#3 Armstrong Atlantic State vs. #6 Lander

2:30 p.m.
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional match #2
#2 Carson-Newman vs. #7 Lincoln Memorial

Session #2
5 p.m.
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional match #3
#4 Catawba vs. #5 Francis Marion

7:30 p.m.
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional match #4
#1 Wingate vs. #8 Anderson (S.C.)

Saturday, November 22, 2008
Session #3
5 p.m.
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional match #5
Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

7:30 p.m.
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional match #6
Winner of Game 3 vs. Winner of Game 4

Sunday, November 23, 2008
Session #4
7 p.m.
NCAA Division II Southeast Regional match #6 (championship match)

TICKET PRICES FOR EACH SESSION (FOUR SESSIONS)
$8 for adults, $5 for students, $3 for children 12 years and under