Rock Hill, S.C.----Wingate University junior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) is this week’s South Atlantic Conference Player of the Week, league officials announced Monday. Gale wins the award for the fourth time this year and the eighth time in her career.

Gale averaged 4.44 kills per set and 2.22 digs per set last week, leading the Bulldogs to a pair of conference victories. Wingate secured its third straight perfect SAC season, winning its 46th consecutive conference match. Gale had 19 kills, 12 digs, six blocks and three aces in the 3-2 win over Carson-Newman Friday. She had 21 kills and eight digs in the 3-1 win over LMU Saturday.

Gale finished the regular season as the SAC leader with 3.77 kills per set and third on the league charts with a .304 hitting percentage. Gale notched seven double-doubles on the year, while also leading the team with 0.73 blocks per set. She has collected double-digit kills eight matches in a row and 17 times this season. Gale has had at least 15 kills 12 times on the year.

The 23rd-ranked Bulldogs are 31-1 overall. They finished 16-0 in the SAC, winning their fourth consecutive regular season SAC title. Wingate compiled a perfect SAC record for the third straight year. The Bulldogs have now won 19 straight matches this year and 95 of their last 100 since the beginning of the 2007 season. The top-ranked team in the Southeast Region, Wingate has won 75 of its last 77 regular season matches.

The Bulldogs will be the number one seed in this week’s Food Lion SAC Tournament in Greeneville, Tenn. Wingate will take on the eighth-seeded Tornados of Brevard College in the opening round match Friday at 12 noon. The winner will take on the winner of the Tusculum vs. Catawba match Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The championship match will take place Sunday at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs have won three consecutive Food Lion SAC Tournament titles.

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.