Courtesy Newberry College Sports Information Office

Final: Presbyterian College 3, Lenoir-Rhyne 1 (30-18, 30-21, 16-30, 30-28)

Semifinal: Presbyterian College 3, Wingate 0 (30-21, 30-14, 30-9)

Semifinal: Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Carson-Newman 1 (30-19, 30-27, 26-30, 30-20)

Presbyterian College 3, Lenoir-Rhyne 1 (30-18, 30-21, 16-30, 30-28) Box Score

NEWBERRY, S.C. - Presbyterian College senior Donja Bobbitt (San Antonio, TX) tallied a match-high 19 kills and 11 digs en route to 2004 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament MVP honors as the top seed Lady Blue Hose defeated the No. 2 seed Lenoir-Rhyne College 30-18, 30-21, 16-30, 30-28 to claim the 2004 Food Lion SAC Tournament title held on the campus of Newberry College today.

In the first game, Presbyterian broke an early 7-7 tie with a 8-2 run to go ahead 15-9 highlighted by four kills from All-SAC standout, senior Donja Bobbitt (San Antonio, TX). A kill by L-R's All-SAC standout, senior Rebecca Steinlin (Columbia, S.C.) and a Lady Blue Hose hitting error cut PC's lead to 18-14. PC's junior Allyn Beam (Charleston, S.C.) picked up a service ace and Bobbitt added another kill to give the Lady Blue Hose a 24- 15 advantage. PC closed out the game with a 6-3 run to win 30-18.

In game #2, PC took an early 6-3 lead but the Bears used a 8-4 run to take their first lead at 11-10 on a kill by Steinlin. The game stayed close with both teams trading kills until SAC Player of the Year junior Erin Friday (Summerville, S.C.) and teammate Beam combined on a block and a kill each to push the lead out to 19-14. Friday connected on three straight kills followed by a pair of L-R hitting errors to take the lead to double figures at 24-14. L-R's SAC Freshman of the Year Lauren McLelland's (Statesville, N.C.) service ace cut the Lady Blue Hose lead to 27-19 before Bobbitt and All-SAC selection, junior Jasmin Brown (Alpharetta, Ga.) each tallied a kill down the stretch to give PC the 30-21 victory.

Lenoir-Rhyne came alive in the third game, jumping out to an 9-3 lead fueled by a pair of service aces by All- SAC selection, senior Brandi Rickert (Huntersville, N.C.) and a pair of kills by All-SAC standout, junior Lesile Hinkle (High Point, N.C.). PC's All-SAC sophomore Erin Winchester (Pickens, S.C.) served three straight points to cut the lead to 10-7. L-R's Hinkle added a pair of kills and Rickert added two more service aces to push the Bear lead to 20-13. Steinlin and senior Brittany Parkhill's (Hendersonville, N.C.) service ace sealed the victory for Lenoir-Rhyne at 30-16.

In the fourth game, PC took an early 7-3 lead behind a pair of kills from Bobbitt. Lenoir-Rhyne cut the lead to 9-7 on a kill by junior Angela Danley (Snellville, Ga.). The game stayed close until the Bears fought back to take the lead at 25-24 on three straight kills by Hinkle. Sophomore Kathryn Phillips' (Lexington, N.C.) kill pushed the lead to 26-24, but PC fought back with Friday and SAC All-Freshmen team selection Lauren Mason (Peachtree City, Ga.) each picking up a kill and Friday adding a service ace to pushed the Lady Blue Hose back in the lead at 27-26. Bobbitt and Brown finished off the game with kills to seal the victory for PC at 30-28.

Joining Bobbitt on the SAC All-Tournament team from PC was Friday who tallied 18 kills and 15 digs and Brown who added 15 kills. Lenoir-Rhyne's Steinlin and Hinkle, who each tallied 12 kills, also were named to the SAC All-Tournament team. Wingate's Molly Kerns and Carson-Newman's Jennifer Holmes were also selected to the team.

Presbyterian College (28-7) earns the 2004 Food Lion/SAC Tournament title and the league's automatic bid to next week's NCAA Division II South Region Tournament. Lenoir-Rhyne College (27-7) will await word concerning an at-large bid early next week to the eight-team field.

2004 Food Lion/SAC All-Tournament Team Donja Bobbitt, Presbyterian (MVP) Erin Friday, Presbyterian Jennifer Holmes, Carson-Newman Jasmin Brown, Presbyterian Lesile Hinkle, Lenoir-Rhyne Rebecca Steinlin, Lenoir-Rhyne Molly Kerns, Wingate

Presbyterian College 3, Wingate 0 (30-21, 30-14, 30-9) Box Score

NEWBERRY, S.C. - Presbyterian College junior Erin Friday (Summerville, S.C.) tallied a match- high 17 kills to lead three players with double figure kills as the top seed Lady Blue Hose defeated the No. 5 seed Wingate University Bulldogs 30-21, 30-14, 30-9 in the semifinals of the 2004 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament held this morning at Eleazer Gymnasium on the campus of Newberry College.

Friday, the 2004 SAC Player of the Year, hit .484 for the match while All-SAC standouts, junior Jasmin Brown (Alpharetta, Ga.) and senior Donja Bobbitt (San Antonio, TX) tallied 13 and 12 kills respectively. The Lady Blue Hose (27-7) advance to tonight's championship match at 7:00 pm where they will take on the winner of the No. 2 seed Lenoir-Rhyne College No. 3 seed Carson-Newman College match. Wingate University ends the season at 14-16.

In the first game, the Lady Blue Hose jumped out to an 8-3 lead. After a Bulldog timeout, Wingate went on a 6-1 run highlighted by a trio of kills by sophomore Lauren Alley (Bristol, TN) to pull within 10-9. The match stayed close until PC's All-SAC standout, sophomore Erin Winchester (Pickens, S.C.), served seven straight points to push the lead to 26-19. Wingate cut the lead to 27-21 on a hitting error by PC, but a pair of Lady Blue Hose kills and a service ace by junior Allyn Beam (Charleston, S.C.) gave the Lady Blue Hose the first game 30-21.

In the second game, Wingate took an early 4-1 lead on three PC hitting errors. PC responded with a 14-4 run to take a 15-8 lead, highlighted by four kills from Friday. PC then served 10 of the last 11 points to win the second game 30-14.

In the final game, PC jumped out to a 10-2 lead behind a trio of kills from Brown. Wingate fought back to cut the lead to 16-7 highlighted by a pair of kills from Alley. The Lady Blue Hose then put together a 7-0 run with Bobbitt tallying four kills to go ahead 23-8. Bobbitt and Friday each picked up a kill in the final seven points as the Lady Blue Hose captured the third game 30-9.

Wingate was led by Alley who tallied seven kills and sophomore middle hitter Molly Kerns (Bellefontaine, OH) who tallied five kills and five assist blocks. Freshman Melissa Deluca (Bahama, N.C.) dished out 14 assists and added seven digs.

PC's Bobbitt led the defense with 16 digs, Brown added three total blocks, while Winchester dished out 34 assists.

Lenoir-Rhyne 3, Carson-Newman 1 (30-19, 30-27, 26-30, 30-20) Box Score

NEWBERRY, S.C. - Lenoir-Rhyne's senior All-SAC standout Rebecca Steinlin (Columbia, S.C.) tallied a match-high 19 kills with four assist blocks to lead the second-seeded Bears to a 30-19, 30-27, 26-30, 30-20 victory over the third-seeded Lady Eagles of Carson-Newman College in the semifinals of the 2004 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference Tournament held this afternoon in Eleazer Arena on the campus of Newberry College.

The Bears (27-6) advance to tonight's championship match held tonight at 7:00 pm where they will face the top seeded Lady Blue Hose of Presbyterian College. The winner of tonight's championship match will receive an automatic bid to the 2004 NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament held next weekend. Carson-Newman College ends the season with a 25-10 overall record.

In the first game, Lenoir-Rhyne would jump out to a 10-5 lead by taking advantage of several Lady Eagle hitting errors to open the match. The lead would extend to 15-8 on a kill by Steinlin. The Bears would go on a 6-1 run to pull ahead 21-9. The run was keyed by two more kills from Steinlin. Carson-Newman's All-SAC standout Kelli Sorensen (Maple Grove, Minn.) would fuel the Lady Eagles come back with four kills to cut the lead to 26-15. The Bears would get a service ace from All-SAC selection Brandi Rickert (Huntersville, N.C.) and a kill from Brittany Parkhill (Hendersonville, N.C.) to close out the first game 30-19.

In the second, the Bears broke a 6-6 tie with a 8-3 run highlighted by Parkhill's (Hendersonville, N.C.) kill and three straight service points to go ahead. 14-9. The Lady Eagles cut the lead 16-14 on a kill by sophomore Melissa Miller (Springfield, OH). Carson-Newman would retake the lead at 21-20 moments later on a pair of kills by sophomore Meg Davis (Birmingham, AL). The Bears would come back and retake the lead for good at 24-23 on a kill by sophomore Kathryn Phillips (Lexington, N.C.). L-R would outscore the Lady Eagles 6-4 down the stretch to win 30-27.

Carson-Newman would come find themselves down 10-4 in the third game before going on a 12-6 run to tie the game at 16-16 on a service ace by Parkhill. All-SAC standout senior Jennifer Holmes (Franklin, Tenn.) would key the comeback with a pair of kills. Miller's kill would give the Lady Eagles their first lead at 17-16 as C-N would outscore the Bears 13-10 down the stretch to win 30-26 and force a fourth game. Freshman Meri George (Asheville, N.C.) would tally four kills to lead the Eagles in the final points of the game.

Lenoir-Rhyne jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the fourth with Steinlin and All-SAC selection Lesile Hinkle (High Point, N.C.) combining for four kills. The Bears would extend the lead to 20-12 on back-to-back kills from Steinlin. The Lady Eagles would make one more push and cut the lead to 24-19 on a kill by senior Melanie Templin (Andersonville, Tenn.). The Bears would put the match away by getting kills from Steinlin and Hinkle and taking advantage of service Lady Eagle errors down the stretch to win 30-20.

L-R was led by Hinkle who tallied 12 kills and 22 digs while Phillips and Danley added 11 kills apiece. SAC Freshman of the Year selection Lauren McLelland (Statesville, N.C.) dished out 52 assists to go along with nine digs.

Carson-Newman was led by Templin who tallied 14 kills while Holmes added 12 kills and three total blocks while All-SAC standout Kari Gibson (Celina, OH) dished out 52 assists and added nine digs.