Box Score

Savannah, Ga.----The Wingate University Bulldogs improved to 11-0, notching an impressive 3-0 sweep over host Armstrong Atlantic State University on day one of the 2009 Chatham Orthopedic Volleyball Classic. The Bulldogs won by scores of 28-26, 25-22 and 25-19 to remain perfect on the season. AASU, the defending Southeast Region champions, falls to 6-2 on the year. Wingate has now won 36 consecutive regular season matches dating back to last season. The Bulldogs have also won 31 consecutive sets on the year.

Junior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) led the way with 16 kills and 14 digs while hitting .321. Junior outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) added nine kills while senior outside hitter Jacki Emmenecker (Perrysburg, Ohio) chipped in with eight kills. Sophomore setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) racked up 35 assists and six digs while sophomore libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) collected 16 digs.

Freshman middle hitter Kathrin Strandhardinger (Munich, Germany) led the Pirates with 10 kills. Senior outside hitter Amy Birkemeier (Columbus Grove, Ohio) added seven kills. Freshman setter Kris Strandhardinger (Munich, Germany) had 29 assists and 16 digs while sophomore outside hitter Torrie Bevolo (St. Louis, Mo.) collected 15 digs. 

“All of our players really worked hard to prepare for this particular match,” Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. “We played well tonight, had a great comeback to win game one, but the key to our win was our preparation in training camp and in practice. Armstrong is obviously a very good team, one of the best in our region, so this was a great win for us tonight."

The Pirates jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first set, capped by a kill from Birkemeier. The Bulldogs fought back, cutting it to two on back-to-back kills from Emmenecker and an ace from senior defensive specialist Brittany Horner (Roxboro, N.C.). A Birkemeier kill pushed the AASU lead back to four. Wingate scored five of the next six points, tying the set at 19 on an Emmenecker kill. The teams would trade points throughout the rest of the set, with the lead never getting higher than one. A block from junior middle blocker Rebecca Bloemer (Louisville, Ky.) and sophomore outside hitter Jenny O’ Brien(Matthews, N.C.) tied the set at 26. Gale followed with a kill to give Wingate its first lead at 27-26. Another Gale kill finished the dramatic first set. 

The second set was tightly contested throughout, with neither team gaining a lead larger than three. An ace from Willis put the Bulldogs up 14-12. A kill from Kathrin Strandhardinger tied it at 14. A kill from sophomore middle hitter Leia Pittman (Carthage, Mo.) put the Pirates on top 21-19. The Bulldogs answered with four straight points. Emmenecker got it started with a kill and an ace. Gale capped the spurt with an ace to put Wingate up 23-21. Another kill from Gale made it 24-22; Billo capped the set with a kill.

The Bulldogs took a 6-0 lead in the third set, getting a pair of kills from Willis. The Pirates fought back to cut it to one at 11-10 on a kill from Kathrin Strandhardinger. Wingate responded with the next three points to take a 14-10 lead. Kills from Bloemer and O’Brien, followed by a Willis ace made it 19-13. The lead would remain above five the rest of the way with Gale wrapping up the match with a kill.

Wingate hit .258 for the match, collecting 46 kills against 14 errors in 124 attacks. AASU had 39 kills against 19 errors in 122 attacks for an attack percentage of .164. The Bulldogs had seven aces, led by Willis with three and Gale with two. Wingate is back in action Saturday, taking on Flagler at 11 a.m. and Barry at 4:30 p.m.