Indianapolis, Ind.----The Wingate University Bulldogs are the number one team in this year’s first Southeast Region volleyball poll, released Thursday evening. The Bulldogs are 21-1 overall, 9-0 in the South Atlantic Conference and 18-0 against regional opponents. Wingate was the number one ranked team in the region for the entire 2008 season. The Bulldogs hosted the 2008 NCAA Southeast Region tournament.

Flagler is the number two team in the region, at 16-8 overall and 7-1 in the Peach Belt Conference. The Bulldogs defeated Flagler 3-2 earlier this year in the AASU/Chatham Orthopedics Volleyball Classic. The defending Southeast Region champion Armstrong Atlantic State is third in this week’s poll. The AASU Pirates are followed by USC Aiken, Catawba, Lincoln Memorial, Carson-Newman and Lees-McRae. Montevallo is ninth in the region, while Lander rounds out the top 10. Wingate is a combined 7-0 against the region’s ranked teams, with all seven victories coming over teams in the top seven.

Wingate has won 39 consecutive SAC matches, dating back to the 2007 season. The Bulldogs have compiled an overall record of 85-5 since the start of the 2007 season, good for a .944 winning percentage which leads NCAA Division II. The Bulldogs have won 65 of their last 67 regular season matches and have dropped only 10 sets in 22 matches this season. Wingate has won three consecutive SAC regular season and tournament titles.

The Bulldogs are led by junior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas), who leads the SAC with 3.60 kills per set, while ranking second with a .318 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) is second in the league with 3.29 kills per set and fourth with a .307 hitting percentage. Sophomore setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) leads the SAC with 10.16 assists per set. Sophomore libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) is in the top 10 in the league in aces and digs.

Wingate has three matches this weekend. The Bulldogs host Tusculum College Friday night for DiG PiNK Night at 7 p.m. Wingate will then host Mars Hill College Saturday at 5 p.m. The Bulldogs will take on Pfeiffer University Sunday at 7 p.m. The Wingate-Pfeiffer match will be played at Carolina Courts in Indian Trail.

WINGATE UNIVERSITY

Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.

Wingate offers more than 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.

Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.

Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 34 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 43 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.

(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.)