The five-time defending South Atlantic Conference regular season and tournament champion Wingate University Bulldogs will look to continue the incredible run they have been on during the past four seasons. Wingate is 131-8 over the past four years, good for a .942 winning percentage which leads all of Division II. The Bulldogs led the nation with a .939 winning percentage in 2010, while becoming the first team in SAC history to reach the NCAA Elite Eight.
The numbers and accolades the Bulldogs have compiled during this stretch are unprecedented in SAC volleyball. They have won over 30 matches in each of the past four seasons, and have lost only twice in each of the four years. The Bulldogs are 113-4 in regular season action since 2007 and 15-0 in the SAC Tournament since 2006. Wingate is the only team in the nation to rank in the top three nationally in winning percentage the last four seasons. They led the nation last year, while the 33-2 mark in 2007 was also the nation’s best. The ‘Dogs went 31-2 in 2008 and 36-2 in 2009, finishing third nationally in winning percentage both years.
The Bulldogs will enter the 2011 season on a league record 64-match SAC winning streak. Wingate has not lost a regular season SAC contest since the 2006 season. The Bulldogs have dropped only 29 sets in the 64-match winning streak. In 2009, Wingate became the first team in league history to earn an AVCA Top 25 ranking. In 2010, the ‘Dogs became the first team in conference history to win the regional title, while also becoming the first SAC school to end the season ranked in the top 25. Wingate is also the first team in league history to win five consecutive regular season or tournament titles. The 64 league wins over the last four years are 20 wins more than the next closest team in the SAC.
The Bulldogs will look different in 2011, with the departure of four key seniors including two-time All-American and SAC Player of the Year Stormi Gale, along with three-time All-SAC selection and 2009 honorable mention All-American Lauren Billo. “We will have some questions to answer with this year’s team” head coach Shelton Collier says. “Most notably, how will we win without our All-American, Stormi Gale? I am confident that we will have a group of players who will work together and find a way to continue our success here.”
That group will be led by three seniors. Setter Liz Willis is a three-time All-SAC and All-Region selection. She ranks fourth on the school’s all-time list with 3,024 career assists. Libero Maggie Malone is second on the school’s all-time list with 1,449 career digs. The 2009 honorable mention All-American is already Wingate’s all-time leader with 4.49 digs per set in her career. Outside hitter Janice Ehorn rounds out the senior class. Playing a key role off the Wingate bench, Ehorn has notched 254 career kills.
Wingate’s lone junior on the roster is middle blocker
Grace Krauser. The winner of the prestigious Elite 88 award in 2010, Krauser had a solid sophomore season with 1.55 kills and 1.07 digs per set. Redshirt sophomore
Anna Hilton had a great debut season with the Bulldogs in 2010, averaging 2.16 kills per set while ranking third in the SAC with a .327 hitting percentage. Hilton earned All-SAC Freshman honors last season.
Sophomore outside hitter
Cory McGowan will be a big part of Wingate’s 2011 attack. She finished second on the team with 2.96 kills and 2.95 digs per set in her freshman campaign, earning All-SAC Freshman honors. She was also named to the All-National team by COBRA Magazine. McGowan played a key role in Wingate’s postseason
success, earning All-Tournament honors at the Food Lion SAC Tournament and the NCAA Southeast Regionals.
Three more Wingate sophomores will look to make contributions in their second year with the Bulldogs. Defensive specialist Rianne Lang averaged 2.13 digs per set in 2010, while adding eight aces. Outside hitter Kayla Osterhus appeared in 12 matches last season, compiling a .351 hitting percentage. Middle blocker Allison Rickher hit .294 in her 11 appearances in 2010. Alison Cooke is ready for her first season of action after red-shirting during the 2010 season. She will add depth to the setter position in 2011.
This year’s freshman class will also have a big impact on the potential success for Wingate. The Bulldogs bring in three middle blockers: Jenna Flanigan, Kelsey Handel and Lexi Potter. They join outside hitter Susie Murach and defensive specialist Stephanie Tassone. Collier believes Murach will be an impact player right away as a starter at the leftside hitter position. He also has high regard for the skills and leadership of Tassone, who will be a key defensive specialist immediately. With the graduation of Gale and Bloemer, all three incoming middle hitters will compete for playing time as starters and key reserves at the important position.
“We are extremely proud of all the success we have had in recent years” Collier says. “Although we lost some key seniors to graduation, our goals will remain the same; to win the conference again and make another run to the Elite Eight. We have an excellent group of returners and a strong, five-player recruiting class, so there is reason for optimism.”
Wingate has been the number one ranked team in every NCAA Southeast Region poll since the beginning of the 2008 season. The Bulldogs have hosted the NCAA Regionals each of the past three seasons. Wingate has made a league-record six consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament and has more tournament victories (six) than the rest of the league combined (five).
The Bulldogs open their season Friday, Sept. 2 in the Carolina Challenge in Banner Elk, N.C. Wingate will take on St. Andrews and Lees-McRae Friday. The LMC match will be a rematch of the 2010 NCAA Southeast regional quarterfinal match, which Wingate won 3-0 to begin its Elite Eight run. The ‘Dogs will take on Lander University Saturday, Sept. 3 at 11 a.m. The Bulldogs will face 2009 Southeast Regional champion Flagler College at 4 p.m. That match will be a rematch of the last two Southeast Regional championship matches. Flagler won 3-1 in 2009, while the Bulldogs prevailed 3-0 in 2010. The two teams have met five times the past two seasons, with Wingate holding a 3-2 advantage. The ‘Dogs open league play at Carson-Newman Sept. 9, followed by a trip to Lincoln Memorial Sept. 10. Wingate opens its home slate against Tusculum Sept. 16. Wingate’s first three league contests are against teams that were in the NCAA Tournament in 2010 and were all picked in the top five in the SAC preseason poll.
2010 Season Outlook
