Rock Hill, S.C.----Wingate University’s dominance in the South Atlantic Conference was evident when the end-of-year awards were announced Thursday morning. One day after being named the SAC Scholar-Athlete, senior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) was named the league’s Player of the Year. Middle blocker Lexi Potter (North Liberty, Iowa) was named the SAC Freshman of the Year, while Shelton Collier earned Coach of the Year honors for the fifth straight season. In addition, three Bulldogs earned first team All-SAC honors, one earned second team honors and two more earned All-Freshman honors.
 
Willis earns All-SAC honors for the fourth consecutive year, while earning first team All-SAC accolades for the second time in her career. Redshirt sophomore middle blocker Anna Hilton (Hickory, N.C.) earns first team All-SAC honors, along with sophomore outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.). Junior middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) earns second team all-conference honors. Potter is joined on the All-SAC Freshman team by outside hitter Susie Murach (Burke, Va.).
 
Willis is the fifth SAC Player of the Year for the Bulldogs. 2011 Wingate graduate Stormi Gale won the award in 2009 and 2010. Willis is the eighth volleyball player from Wingate to be named the SAC Scholar-Athlete. She becomes the 55th student-athlete from Wingate to earn the honor, which leads the all-time SAC list. She is the third person in SAC volleyball history to earn the Scholar-Athlete Award and Player of the Year award the same year. Willis becomes the first volleyball player ever to earn the SAC Freshman of the Year award, Player of the Year award and SAC Scholar-Athlete Award in her career.
 
Willis leads the league and ranks fourth nationally with 11.84 assists per set, leading an offense that ranks eighth nationally in kills per set. She is also averaging 2.75 digs per set, adding 41 kills, 20 blocks and 13 aces on the year. Willis has notched seven double-doubles on the year, while handing out at least 40 assists 10 times. She had a career-high 58 assists in the win over Flagler and notched a career-best 22 digs against Carson-Newman. Willis had 50 assists and 12 digs in the Tusculum home victory, while piling up 55 assists and 18 digs in the win at Tusculum.
 
“Liz is certainly very deserving of the Player of the Year award,” Collier says. “After losing three of the best hitters we have ever had to graduation last year, she needed to adapt and find a way to win with a newly-assembled, inexperienced group. Leading our team to such an impressive record and another regular season SAC title is very special.”
 
Hilton ranks fourth in the SAC with 3.26 kills per set, while ranking second with a .325 hitting percentage. She is also averaging 3.03 digs per set and 0.72 blocks per set. Hilton leads the Bulldogs with eight double-doubles this season, while notching double-digit kills 17 times. She has also had nine matches this year with a hitting percentage of at least .400. Hilton had 16 kills and 14 digs at Carson-Newman, followed by a 17-kill, 10-dig performance at Lincoln Memorial. She had 12 kills and 19 digs against Tusculum, while notching 16 kills and 15 digs at Catawba. Hilton had 14 kills and a career-high 24 digs at Tusculum, while piling up 12 kills and 16 digs with a .522 hitting percentage at Lenoir-Rhyne.
 
“In my opinion, Anna was way out in front as having the best all-around performance of any player in the conference this season,” Collier says. “She was impressively consistent and played at a high level every match this season. She was often dominant, not only with her attacking, but her blocking and her backcourt skills. She has made some amazing progress in her game and it showed in her having such a tremendous season.”
 
McGowan also ranks fourth in the league with 3.26 kills per set, adding 1.63 digs per set. She has had double-digit kills 14 times this year. McGowan had a career-high 18 kills with a .500 hitting percentage in the Flagler win. She had 13 kills at LMU and 14 against Brevard. McGowan had 12 kills with a .647 hitting percentage against Fayetteville State, while piling up 16 kills with a .464 hitting percentage against Carson-Newman. She had 12 kills and a .500 hitting percentage in the regular season finale sweep over Newberry.
 
“Cory really elevated her game as the season progressed, and established herself as one of league's top hitters,” Collier says. “There are several very good left-side hitters in the SAC this season, so for Cory to receive first team honors from the coaches indicates that she has gained some significant notoriety and respect around the league.”
 
Krauser is one of only three players in the SAC to rank in the top 10 in kills per set (2.90) and hitting percentage (.287). She has also collected 58 digs, 34 blocks and 16 aces on the year. Krauser has notched double-digit kills 10 times this season. She had a stretch early in the season with five straight matches with at least 10 kills, which included 14 kills against Flagler, 13 at Carson-Newman and LMU and 15 against Tusculum. Krauser had a season-high 16 kills against Fayetteville State. She had 12 kills and a .500 hitting percentage against Lincoln Memorial.
 
“Grace has been a valuable leader for us,” Collier says. “She made the notable transition from a secondary hitter, which was her role last year, to a key primary hitter this year. I know she was one of the few players in the league who were near the top in both kills and hitting percentage, which is impressive.”
 
Potter is the fifth Bulldog to earn SAC Freshman of the Year honors, and first since Willis in 2008. She is averaging 1.77 kills per set, while leading the league with a .332 hitting percentage. Potter is third in the league with 1.02 blocks per set. She has had six matches this season with at least eight kills, while hitting over .400 eight times. Potter had eight kills and three blocks in the Flagler win. She had nine kills and four blocks at Catawba and Tusculum. In her last three matches of the regular season, Potter had 28 kills and 10 blocks, hitting .571.
 
“There were a number of talented freshmen in the conference this year, so for Lexi to be named as the best by the other coaches is a great honor for her,” Collier says. “She certainly made significant progress from the start of the season. In recent weeks, she has been playing exceptionally well with some impressive stats in some very important league matches.”
 
Murach is averaging 2.65 kills per set, ranking second on the team with 3.09 digs per set. She leads the league with 0.43 aces per set. Murach has notched four double-doubles on the season, while collecting double-digit digs 10 times. Her career-high came in the Flagler win, piling up 19 kills while adding 12 digs. She had 12 kills and a career-best 20 digs in the win at Tusculum. Murach had 14 kills and 11 digs with a .393 hitting percentage against LMU. She followed that performance with 18 kills and 15 digs in the win at Tusculum.
 
“We recruited Susie knowing full well that she had the ability and potential to be a key player in the conference right away as a freshman,” Collier says. “She has been a key factor for us as a hitter and as a solid all around player from the start of the season, and has been making steady progress each week. Having her included with the other top freshmen is great for her and our program.”
 
Collier wins Coach of the Year honors for the fifth consecutive year. No other coach in league history has won the award more than three times. Collier led the Bulldogs to their sixth consecutive regular season SAC title and fifth straight undefeated conference season. He also led Wingate to its first-ever undefeated regular season, with the Bulldogs being one of only two remaining undefeated teams in the nation.
 
The ‘Dogs have been ranked in every AVCA top 25 poll this season, and their current ranking of 14th is the highest ranking in SAC volleyball history. Wingate has ranked in ranked in the top three nationally in winning percentage in each of the past five seasons. The Bulldogs are 158-8 overall since the start of the 2007 season and have currently won a SAC record 82 consecutive league matches. Wingate is also on a 50-match regular season winning streak.
 
The Bulldogs are the top seed in this week’s Food Lion SAC tournament, as they look to win their sixth consecutive title. Wingate opens up its title defense Friday at 12 noon, taking on the eighth-seeded Carson-Newman College Eagles. This weekend’s tournament will take place on the campus of Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn.
 
WINGATE SPORTS WEEKLY
 
The Wingate University Bulldog Club sponsors Wingate Sports Weekly each Wednesday at Hill Top Bistro in Monroe (602 E. Roosevelt Blvd.). The Dutch treat lunch begins at 12 noon. The gatherings give Bulldog fans an opportunity to interact with Wingate coaches and student-athletes. Wingate Sports Weekly replaces Wake Up with Wingate for the 2011-12 academic year.
 
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
 
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a comprehensive university with more than 2,500 students on three campuses in Wingate, Matthews and Hendersonville, N.C. The university offers 34 undergraduate majors, 37 minors and career concentrations, numerous pre-professional programs, graduate degrees in business, accounting, physician assistant studies and sports administration and doctorates in pharmacy and education.
 
Wingate students gain the tools and support they need to excel in academics and apply that learning toward an extraordinary career and life. The campus community offers in-class learning, out-of-class experiences, strong mentors, a competitive yet caring environment and rewarding community service opportunities for a complete educational experience.
 
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 five years.
 
Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 39 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 48 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.)