Box Score

Greeneville, Tenn.----Wingate University junior outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) racked up 18 kills while hitting .472 as the top-seeded Bulldogs swept the eighth-seeded Tornados of Brevard College 3-0 in quarterfinal action of the 2009 Food Lion SAC Volleyball Tournament. Wingate won by scores of 25-19, 25-14 and 25-15 to improve to 32-1 overall and advance to the SAC Tournament semifinals to take on the winner of the Catawba vs. Tusculum match.

The #24 team in this week’s AVCA Top 25, and number one team in the Southeast Region, Wingate has now won 20 straight matches this season. The Bulldogs also notched their 10th straight victory in a SAC Tournament contest. Wingate has now won 96 of their last 101 matches dating back to the 2007 season.

“In recent years, we have been a very good team in the SAC Tournament, and our players realize we have to win the quarterfinals to move on and have a shot at winning it later in the weekend,” Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. “We were able to play well enough to win today, and we are really looking forward to what is certain to be a very competitive semifinal match on Saturday.”

A 2009 First Team All-SAC selection, Billo notched her 18 kills against only one error in 36 attacks. Junior middle blocker and 2009 SAC Player of the Year Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) added nine kills while hitting .391 on the match. Sophomore setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) handed out 25 assists to go along with a team-high 14 digs. It is the team-best 12th double-double for the first team all-conference honoree. Sophomore libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) added 10 digs for the Bulldogs.

Senior middle hitter Brooke Seaman (Spring Hill, Fla.) led the Brevard attack with eight kills, while freshman outside hitter Jami Atkinson (Spartanburg, S.C.) added five kills for the Tornados. Freshman setter Bethany Stevenson (Pratville, Ala.) collected 23 assists and 11 digs, while junior libero Rebecca Schoonover (Palm City, Fla.) piled up a match-high 15 digs.

A 3-0 run in the first set gave the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead, capped by kills from Gale and senior outside hitter Jacki Emmenecker (Perrysburg, Ohio). A Billo kill, followed by Brevard error put Wingate on top 18-9. A kill from Stevenson, followed by an ace from Schoonover cut the lead to 20-15. A Wingate error trimmed the lead to four. An Emmenecker kill made it 22-17. The lead would not go below four the rest of the way, as Gale finished the set with a kill. Wingate hit .324 in the opening frame.

Kills from Gale and freshman middle blocker Grace Krauser (Louisville, Ky.) gave Wingate a 13-8 lead in the second frame. The Bulldogs added a 4-0 run to take a 17-9 lead. Sophomore outside hitter Janice Ehorn (Orange, Conn.) got the run started with a kill, while Billo capped it with a kill. The advantage would not go below seven the rest of the way, with Ehorn and senior middle blocker Megan McVicker (Mercer, Pa.) capping the set with a block. The Bulldogs hit .417 in the second frame.

Three consecutive kills from Billo gave Wingate a 16-8 lead in the final set. Another Billo kill, followed by an Ehorn kill made it 20-11. Brevard cut the deficit to seven at 21-14 on a kill from sophomore middle hitter Jordei Osby (Goldsboro, N.C.). Emmenecker answered with a block. Billo would wrap up the set with her 18th kill.

The Bulldogs hit .282 for the match, collecting 47 kills against 12 errors in 124 attacks. The Tornados hit .090, notching 30 kills against 19 errors in 122 attacks. Wingate will be back in action Saturday in the SAC Tournament semifinals at 2:30 p.m. 

(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.)