Rock Hill, S.C.----The four-time defending South Atlantic Conference regular season and tournament champion Wingate University volleyball team has been picked by the coaches to win its fifth straight title, officials announced today. In addition, five Bulldogs were named to the preseason All-SAC team, with four earning first team honors. Seniors Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) and Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) are joined by juniors Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) and Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) on the first team. Senior middle blocker Rebecca Bloemer (Louisville, Ky.) earns second team honors. 

The Bulldogs have won 46 consecutive SAC matches, having not lost a conference match since the 2006 season. Wingate is 100-6 overall since the start of the 2007 season. The Bulldogs have been the number one team in every Southeast Region poll the past two years. Wingate hosted the NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament in 2008 and 2009. The Bulldogs have won 56 of their last 57 regular season matches. In 2009, the Bulldogs became the first team in SAC history earn an AVCA Top 25 ranking.

Gale became the first player in SAC history to earn first team All-American honors in 2009. In addition, the three-time first team All-SAC selection was named the 2009 SAC Player of the Year and Southeast Region Player of the Year. The two-time All-Region selection led the SAC with 3.81 kills per set, while ranking second with a .298 hitting percentage. Gale led the Bulldogs with 0.75 blocks per set. She ranked second with 43 aces and fifth with 2.29 digs per set. She had 10 double-doubles on the season, while racking up double-digit kills in 26 of her 37 matches.

A first team All-SAC selection in 2009, Billo led the league with a .317 hitting percentage. She ranked second in the conference with 3.52 kills per set. Billo earned first team All-Region honors, while also being named an honorable mention All-American. Billo was named to the Food Lion SAC All-Tournament team as well. She had double-digit kills in 26 of her 38 matches in 2009. Billo had 18 kills and a .472 hitting percentage in the SAC tournament quarter-final win against Brevard. She followed with a career-high 22 kills, while hitting .391 in the semifinal victory over Catawba.

A two-time All-SAC selection, Willis led the conference in assists for the second consecutive season in 2009. The 2008 AVCA Southeast Region Freshman of the Year earned All-Region honors in her sophomore season, leading the Bulldogs with 13 double-doubles. In addition to her 9.96 assists per set, Willis had 108 kills and 35 aces, while ranking fourth on the team with 2.50 digs per set.

A two-time All-SAC selection, Malone earned All-Region and honorable mention All-American honors in 2009. She was named the MVP of the Food Lion SAC tournament, while also earning All-Tournament honors in the NCAA Southeast Regionals. Malone set a school record with 633 digs in 2009; she has already collected over 1,000 digs in her Wingate career. She set a school record with 41 digs in the 3-2 win at LMU, while setting a school record with 30 digs in a three-set match against Newberry. Malone’s 4.49 digs per set in her career also tops Wingate’s all-time charts.

Wingate received eight of the 10 first-place votes in the preseason poll, voted on by the league coaches. Catawba College was picked to finish second, while receiving one first-place vote. The Indians were followed by Carson-Newman College, Lincoln Memorial University and Tusculum College.

The Bulldogs start their season Friday, Sept. 4, traveling to Lees-McRae College to take on the Bobcats. Wingate will face Coker College Saturday, Sept. 5, followed by a match against defending Southeast Region champion Flagler College. The Bulldogs open conference play Tuesday, Sept. 7, traveling to Catawba College. Wingate’s first home match is Friday, Sept. 10, hosting Lincoln Memorial University at 7 p.m. 

2010 SAC PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL POLL

1. Wingate (8) 98
2. Catawba (1) 82
3. Carson-Newman 77
4. Lincoln Memorial 69
5. Tusculum 58
6. Lenoir-Rhyne 49
7. Newberry (1) 46
8. Anderson 30
9. Mars Hill 24
10. Brevard 17
(First place votes in parenthesis)

2010 SAC PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS

FIRST TEAM
Carly Mozgai, Carson-Newman
Shay Meeks, Catawba
Kaitlyn Whitmer, Catawba
Lauren Kiwacka, Lincoln Memorial
Lauren Billo, Wingate
Stormi Gale, Wingate
Liz Willis, Wingate
Maggie Malone, Wingate, libero

SECOND TEAM
Jamie Lancaster, Anderson
Rebecca Schoonover, Brevard, libero
Nikki James, Carson-Newman
Meredith Lutz, Lenoir-Rhyne
Candace Richardson, Lincoln Memorial
Kara Harris, Newberry
Sam Underwood, Tusculum
Rebecca Bloemer, Wingate

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.

Wingate offers 34 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.

Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past four years.

Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 36 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 45 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.

(Wingate University assistant sports information director Hugh Patton wrote this article. Patton is a 2006 Wingate graduate with a B.A. degree in Communication Studies.)