Lipscomb Volleyball is set to begin a highly anticipated season, and the Lady Bisons, despite a high preseason ranking, are looking beyond the honor to focus on the bigger task at hand, as coach Brandon Rosenthal said.
“For us, the end goal is a championship,” said Rosenthal, who is entering his twelfth season as head coach of the Lady Bisons. He mentioned that while being voted as the top team in the Atlantic Sun conference is quite the honor, it is simply an honor.
Lipscomb is returning six of seven starters from last year, and of those players, Bri McCombs, Jewell Dobson and Lauren Ford all won preseason awards. McCombs earned preseason Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year, Dobson was voted Atlantic Sun preseason Player of the Year and Ford received a place on the All-Conference team.
The Lady Bisons will get an opportunity to cash in on the predictions, as they face four top 25 ranked teams during the season. Their schedule kicks off with back-to-back ranked opponents, Creighton and Kansas ranked 23 and 22 respectively, on the first day of the season. Matchups with no. 15 ranked Missouri and no. 19 ranked Kentucky will be happening on Sept. 5 and 19.
When scheduling these matchups, Rosenthal is only thinking about one thing: winning. He has great confidence in the team and thinks highly of its capability.
“We’re [playing top schools] because I feel like that’s the group that we’re in,” said Rosenthal.
He also talked about the team being historically a “slower-starting team, so we’re always looking to buck the trend.”
Slow start or no, Rosenthal is confident that the girls will play at their highest level, no matter the competition.
“They haven’t backed down, and they won’t back down.”
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics