Lady Eagles fall to top seed Wingate, 3-0, in SAC Tournament semifinals
SALISBURY, N.C. — Top-seeded Wingate defeated the fourth-seeded Carson-Newman volleyball team, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-19), on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament at Goodman Gymnasium.
SALISBURY, N.C. — Top-seeded Wingate defeated the fourth-seeded Carson-Newman volleyball team, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-19), on Saturday afternoon in the semifinals of the 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament at Goodman Gymnasium.
With the loss, the Lady Eagles drop to 19-11 on the season and will await Sunday's NCAA Tournament selection show for seeding in the Southeast Region. The show will be streamed live at www.ncaa.com at 10 p.m.
Wingate improves to 27-1 overall with its 25th straight win. The Bulldogs advance to the championship match and will play for their fifth-consecutive tournament title on Sunday at 2 p.m.
Senior outside hitter Carly Mozgai (Greensboro, N.C.) had 10 kills to lead the C-N attack. Freshman outside hitter Lindsey Bryant (Gainesville, Ga.) added nine kills, while junior outside hitter Carly Swisher (Fort Collins, Colo.) chipped in with eight kills. Senior setter Lara McDonald (Salem, Va.) handed out 28 assists, while sophomore libero Angelle Hayes (Brentwood, Tenn.) notched 14 digs.
Wingate senior outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orlando Park, Ill.) had 16 kills while hitting .316 on the afternoon and had six digs. Senior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) added 12 kills and 13 digs for the Bulldogs. Freshman outside hitter Cory McGowan (Pittsburgh, Pa.) added seven kills and 15 digs. Junior setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) had 37 assists and 11 digs, while junior libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) collected 12 digs.
The Bulldogs built a 17-9 lead in the first set, but C-N scrapped back behind a kill by Mozgai and block from Bryant as it cut Wingate's lead to 20-15. However, Wingate outscored C-N 5-2 the rest of the way, as a kill by McGowan gave the Bulldogs a 25-17 win.
Wingate jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the second frame behind three kills from McGowan. C-N battled back again, however, as it went on a 8-3 run to pull to within 16-15. Mozgai later delivered an ace to tie the match at 20-20. After the Bulldogs regained a 22-21 lead, Gale tallied three straight kills to finish off the set.
After the teams played to an 8-8 tie early in the third set, Wingate went on a 9-2 run to take the lead for good on its way to winning the match.
