Six Volleyball Players From SAC Named To Daktronics All-Region Team

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- Wingate University junior middle blocker Stormi Gale (Richmond, Texas) has been named the Daktronics NCAA Division II Southeast Region Player of the Year, officials announced Tuesday. Gale was one of four Wingate players to be named All-Region, and one of six from the South Atlantic Conference named to the All-Region squad.

Gale, the 2009 SAC Player of the Year, earns All-Region honors for the second consecutive season. Bulldog junior outside hitter Lauren Billo (Orland Park, Ill.) joins Gale on the first team. Sophomore setter Liz Willis (Raleigh, N.C.) and sophomore libero Maggie Malone (Chicago, Ill.) earned second team honors.

Catawba College senior libero Mai Zoua Lo was named to the first team. Lo, who was named to the All-SAC first team as the libero, leads the SAC and ranks 10th in NCAA II in digs at 5.82 per set. Her 640 total on the season has pushed her into the No. 2 spot on Catawba's career list with 1,919 digs over four years. She has also served 25 aces.

Stormi Gale	Lauren Billo
Liz Willis	Maggie Malone
Mai Zoua Lo	Amanda Horenkamp

Lincoln Memorial University senior outside hitter Amanda Horenkamp (Murfreesboro, TN), was named to the second team. Horenkamp earned All-South Atlantic Conference for the third consecutive season. After earning All-SAC Second Team in 2007, Horenkamp has made the All-SAC First Team in 2008 and now again in 2009. She leads the Lady Railsplitters in kills per set (2.74) and ranks second on the team in digs per set this season (4.19). Horenkamp ranks 8th in the conference in kills this season, 8th in service aces (39) and 7th in digs. Horenkamp reached two key milestones this season when she became the Lady Railsplitter's all-time kills leader (1,379) and all-time digs leader (1,677).

The Bulldogs topped the 30-win mark for the third consecutive year, collecting a school-best 36 victories while going 36-2 overall. Wingate also became the first team in South Atlantic Conference history to earn an AVCA Top 25 ranking, finishing the regular season ranked 24th.

Wingate was the top team in the Southeast Region all year, hosting the Southeast Regional Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Bulldogs have won 100 of its last 106 matches dating back to the start of the 2007 season, while also winning 79 of its last 81 regular season matches. Wingate has won 46 consecutive SAC contests, while winning the regular season and Food Lion SAC tournament title four years in a row.

"Our team recently completed the best season in Wingate Volleyball history; Stormi and Lauren were definitely key factors in this success," Wingate head coach Shelton Collier said. "They were both exceptional in terms of having many impressive performances. Equally as notable was their amazing consistency from week to week, all season long."

A three-time first team All-SAC selection, Gale led the league with 3.81 kills per set, while ranking second with a .298 hitting percentage. Gale's 476 kills in the 2009 season rank second on Wingate's all-time single-season charts, while her 1,205 career kills puts her third on the all-time list. "Stormi is a dynamic hitter and always hits for high numbers," Collier said. "However, it is her excellent multi-dimensional skills that really set her apart from other middle hitters in the region."

Gale had at least 10 kills 26 times in Wingate's 38 matches, while notching 10 double-doubles on the year. She led the Bulldogs with 94 blocks on the season, while also collecting 43 aces. Gale had at least nine kills in Wingate's last 15 matches. She had 22 kills, 17 digs and four blocks in the win at Newberry. She collected a career-high 24 kills along with 14 digs in the win at Lincoln Memorial.

Gale had 17 kills with a .645 hitting percentage in the 3-0 win over Pfeiffer. She had 19 kills, 12 digs and six blocks in a five-set win over Carson-Newman, followed by a 21-kill, eight dig performance against LMU. Gale had 43 kills, 25 digs and 11 blocks in Wingate's three matches in the Southeast Regional Tournament, earning all-tournament honors for the second straight year.

Billo led the South Atlantic Conference with a .317 hitting percentage, while ranking second in the league with 3.52 kills per set. She notched double-digit kills in 26 matches for the Bulldogs, while hitting .300 or better 22 times. She had 21 kills and a .486 hitting percentage in the 3-0 win over Limestone. She collected 17 kills in the 3-2 win over Flagler, while notching 14 kills and a .387 hitting percentage in the sweep over Catawba.

Billo had 12 kills and 10 digs in the 3-0 win at Lander. She had 17 kills in the 3-2 regular season win over Carson-Newman, then 18 kills against only one error in the SAC tournament win over Brevard. Billo notched a career-high 22 kills, while hitting .391 in the 3-1 win over Catawba in the SAC tournament semifinals. She had 15 kills with a .423 hitting percentage in the regional semi-final victory over Carson-Newman. "Lauren has been one of our most improved players over the last two years; she certainly elevated her game to a new level this season," Collier acknowledges. "She clearly established herself as the top outside hitter in the region this past season."

The 2008 Southeast Region Freshman of the Year, Willis earns second team honors for the second consecutive season. She led the SAC with 9.96 assists per set, while ranking fourth on the team with 2.50 digs per set. She was also third on the team with 35 aces on the year. Willis led the team with 13 double-doubles in the 2009 season. She had 38 assists and 10 digs in the 3-0 win over Anderson. Willis had 30 assists, nine digs and six kills in the sweep over USC Aiken. She notched 41 assists, 10 digs and five kills against Lenoir-Rhyne.

Willis had 38 assists, 11 digs and seven kills in the 3-1 win at Carson-Newman. She racked up 46 assists and 11 digs in the three-set win over Catawba. Willis had 44 assists and 12 digs in the 3-1 win at LMU. "Liz had many excellent performances this year; she directed our team to some very strong offensive statistics," Collier says.

Malone earns All-Region accolades for the second consecutive season. The two-time All-SAC selection piled up a school-record 633 digs in the 2009 season, ranking second in the SAC with 4.98 digs per set. She collected double-digit digs 32 times on the season, including Wingate's final 28 matches. Malone also led the team with 51 aces on the year. She had 34 digs in the 3-2 win over Flagler. She collected a school-record 41 digs in the 3-2 win at Lincoln Memorial. Malone also set a school record for digs in a three-set match with 30 against Newberry. She also had 30 digs in the 3-1 win over Catawba in the SAC semifinals.

Malone had 59 digs and five aces in Wingate's three SAC tournament matches, earning Food Lion SAC tournament MVP honors for her efforts. "Maggie has truly emerged as one of our most influential and competitive players," Collier said. "She was often our most valuable player in key matches, from the libero position, which is especially impressive."

Malone had 20 digs in the opening round win over Tusculum in the Southeast Regional Tournament. Malone had 59 digs in the regional tournament to earn all-tournament honors. She is averaging 4.49 digs per set in her Wingate career, the highest total in school history.

The team is sponsored by Daktronics, Inc., an acknowledged world leader in scoring, timing and programmable display systems for virtually every sport at every level of competition. The team is voted on by the members of the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). The online nomination and voting processes are powered by ATHLETICSITE.COM.

2009 Daktronics NCAA Division II All-Southeast Region Volleyball Team

First Team
Pos. Name School Year Hometown
OH Lauren Billo Wingate Jr. Orland Park, Ill.
OH Katie Beale Flagler Sr. Stuart, Fla.
OH Jamie Lancaster Anderson (S.C.) Jr. Fountain Inn, S.C.
MH Stormi Gale Wingate Jr. Richmond, Texas
MH Jessica Howard Augusta State Sr. Athens, Ga.
L/DS Mai Zoua Lo Catawba Sr. Hickory, N.C.
S Kristin Standhardinger Armstrong Atlantic Fr. Munich, Germany

2009 Southeast Region Player of the Year: Stormi Gale, Jr., Wingate

Second Team
Pos. Name School Year Hometown
OH Justine Burkhardt Flagler Sr. St. Augustine, Fla.
OH Amanda Horenkamp Lincoln Memorial Sr. Murfreesboro, Tenn.
OH Mel Ritter Barton Jr. Emmaus, N.C.
MH Meg Weathersby Flagler Jr. Maitland, Fla.
MH Whitney Justice Lees-McRae Jr. Connelly Springs, N.C.
L/DS Maggie Malone Wingate Soph. Chicago, Ill.
S Liz Willis Wingate Soph. Raleigh, N.C.