Wingate University Athletics

2013: Stephanie Tassone earned All-Tournament honors at the SAC Tournament and NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament during her junior season...Finished with 4.43 digs per set, ranking seventh in the SAC...Finished second on the team with 27 aces...Had 33 digs in season-opening win over Hillsdale, followed by a 22-dig effort against #9 UIndy...Had 24 digs against #11 Colorado Mines...Collected 21 digs against Anderson...Piled up 28 digs at Mars Hill...Collected 23 digs in back-to-back matches at LMU and Lenoir-Rhyne...Registered 19 digs against Mars Hill...Had 18 digs in the sweep over Belmont Abbey in the NCAA Tournament.

2012: Took over as the team’s libero midway through the season, finishing the year with 3.25 digs per set...Earned All-Tournament honors at the Food Lion SAC Tournament as well as the NCAA Southeast Regional Tournament...Team voted her as the Most Improved Player and Best Practice Player...Registered double-digit digs 16 times during sophomore year... Ended season with 13 consecutive matches of at least 10 digs...Had a season-high 27 digs in the Lees-McRae match...Collected 19 digs against Brevard, while also registering 19 digs against Carson-Newman and Anderson...Had 21 digs in the SAC Tournament semifinal sweep over Newberry, while notching 17 in the championship match against Tusculum...Piled up 22 digs against Lenoir-Rhyne in the regional quarterfinals...Had 25 digs in Wingate’s Elite Eight match against six-time defending national champion Concordia-St. Paul, helping the Bulldogs hold the top-ranked team to its second-lowest hitting percentage of the season. 

2011: Appeared in 31 matches during her freshman year at Wingate...Finished fifth on the team with 2.07 digs per set...Finished third on the team with 29 aces in 2011...Had eight matches with double-digit digs during her rookie campaign...Had 12 digs in the 3-1 win over Flagler, while piling up 15 digs and five aces against St. Augustine’s...Collected a season-high 18 digs in the 3-1 win at Catawba, adding three aces...Notched 12 digs against Catawba in the SAC championship match.

Personal: Stephanie Tassone played for First Alliance Volleyball Club, the same club that produced Wingate All-Americans Maggie Malone and Lauren Billo. As a high school defensive specialist at Mother McAuley, Tassone was an all-conference player and key player on the nationally-prominent high school team in 2010. For her First Alliance club team, Tassone assumed the role as the primary libero. She was regarded as a highly skilled defensive player and passer with exceptional leadership qualities.

Full name is Stephanie Marie Tassone...Born July 1, 1993 in Chicago, Ill...Daughter of Joe and Mary Tassone...Majoring in Finance, minor in Spanish ...Wants to be a International financial businesswoman....Favorite class at Wingate: Macroeconomics...Favorite athletes: Misty May and Patrick Kane...Favorite sports team: Chicago Blackhawks...Favorite movies:  Now and Then, Some Kind of Wonderful...Favorite TV Show: Scandal, The Following...Favorite Food: Homeade ravioli stuffed with spinach and cheese...Favorite sport to play other than volleyball: Softball...Stephanie can't imagine a week without: Laughing and cell phone...Most thrilling sports moment: Winning regionals against Armstrong in 2013...People Stephanie most admires: Her mom and brothers...How Stephanie gets ready for a game: Goofing around...Something people don't know about Stephanie: I love to read and am a huge Harry Potter fan...Nickname: Stephieet...Stephanie thinks: the fastest person on the team is Susie, strongest is Shelly, and the funniest is Tyler...Favorite quote:  “Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out.”  John Wooden

Why Stephanie chose Wingate: "I got to play volleyball at a beautiful school with teammates who were not only passionate about volleyball, but who seemed like they would be my lifelong friends. Coming to Wingate was the best decision of my life."

Coach Collier:  "Stephanie has had some outstanding performances as a libero, with one of her most notable being when she led both teams in digs in a match against #1 Concordia our the NCAA Tournament  Elite 8 match. She is a very bright, reliable, consistent player and as our senior libero we certainly are planning to build much of our serve reception and defense around her. Her leadership and experience will be really valuable for our team."