by Danny Kotula | Oct 11, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb volleyball team beat the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 3-1 Sunday afternoon at Allen Arena. After starting the season with a 3-8 record, Lipscomb has now won five consecutive matches to improve to an even 8-8 on the year. As it has been for all five matches in the streak, defense was a strong point for the Bisons in the 4-set victory. Three Bisons finished with double-digit digs, including team-leading libero Delaney Smith with 16. “It starts with our scouting report,” Smith said. “Our coaches are great at setting us up where we’re supposed to be.” Head coach Brandon Rosenthal, on the other hand, passed the credit for the performance back to his players. “[I was] really pleased with our defense,” Rosenthal said. “I thought it was really, really stout.” “When you look at the numbers… it’s not about one, it’s about all six and doing that defensive job. I thought Smitty [Smith] was off the charts today. If you look at some of the nuances or the small plays she made today, she was really, really good.” Defensive specialist Libby Steinhardt, a freshman from Mt. Vernon, Indiana, earned 11 digs on the afternoon, giving her a new career high with Lipscomb. “I love the [other members of the team],” Steinhardt said. “The block really helped a lot, and it just felt great being able to play with everybody. I felt like we finally felt simple and played like us.” A back-and-forth first set laid the foundation for a fascinating encounter between two respected mid-major volleyball programs meeting for the first time as conference foes since 2006. The lead...
by Danny Kotula | Oct 8, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s soccer team took down ASUN West Division opponent Bellarmine Thursday night at Owsley Brown Frazier Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. The Bisons produced a 2-0 result as they started division play on the road against a Knights program which is still transitioning to Division I after moving up from Division II last season. While it was a team effort that gave the away side their fourth ASUN Conference victory of the year, the opening goal from sophomore defensive midfielder Shelby Craft stole the show in the 12th minute. Hailing from Frisco, Texas, the Penn State transfer picked up a loose ball outside the box and launched it across the face of goal into the upper right corner. “Obviously, that moment is exciting for anyone who gets to experience it,” said Craft. “To get to celebrate it with everyone who put me in position to score that goal is the sweetest thing ever.” It was a deserved Lipscomb lead inside the first quarter-hour, as head coach Kevin O’Brien’s team played as characteristic of his pressing style as ever. That high-press mentality continued to cause Bellarmine problems for the rest of the half, as they would give up a second goal just past the 20-minute mark. This time, the quality of the assist was the masterstroke, as attacking midfielder Emanuela Schurch found the ball in space, picked out an aerial pass for Auburn transfer Cami Rogers, and watched Rogers dispatch the one-on-one opportunity past Bellarmine goalkeeper Bailee Witt. With the goal, Rogers grabbed her fifth of the year, a mark that leads the Bisons and complements her three assists...
by Danny Kotula | Oct 5, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb women’s soccer goalkeeper CJ Graham is ranked 9th in the nation in save percentage after the NCAA Division I weekly statistics were updated Tuesday. The sophomore stopper boasts a .879 save rate, conceding only 7 times in 12 matches and collecting 51 total saves. Graham has also played the most overall minutes of the top 10 in save percentage, racking up 1,121 minutes this campaign. Bisons head coach Kevin O’Brien hardly seemed surprised about Graham’s accomplishments; the 10-year leader of Lipscomb’s women’s soccer program was quick to praise Graham’s work all season long. “It’s been a great debut season for CJ, no doubt!” said O’Brien. “We knew she had it in her since her arrival on campus, but to see her develop right in front of our eyes has been a coach’s joy.” “I believe that she’s improving with each and every performance and I’m confident that her best is yet to come.” Hailing from the Asheville suburb of Swannanoa, North Carolina, Graham has played every minute that the Bisons have been on the field after backing up 4-year starter Melissa Gray in goal last year. Graham boasts a wealth of experience outside of her current position; she played in the field as an attacker before being converted by her youth coaches into a goalkeeper. A graduate of Asheville STEM school Nesbitt Discovery Academy, a school with no soccer program, she played her high school soccer with the Owen High School Warlassies. At Owen, she played both goalkeeper and attacking midfielder for the varsity team. While only an 8th grader, she scored the match-winning goal in the NCISAA...
by Danny Kotula | Oct 3, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s soccer team took down the Kennesaw State Owls 3-0 Sunday afternoon at Lipscomb Soccer Complex. A consistent performance from the Bisons was a stark contrast from the inconsistent weather on the afternoon, as strong winds and rain plagued the players and supporters from the opening whistle. Per usual, Lipscomb’s attack created problems for its opponent from the start. True freshman midfielder Noa Ganthier registered the first shot of the match inside of 10 minutes, one of ten that the Bisons would go on to attempt in the first half alone. Ganthier, a native of Boca Raton, Florida, contributed 56 minutes for Lipscomb in a continuation of her impressive freshman campaign. Outside back Angela Steidl, a sophomore and transfer from Furman, picked up a head injury in the 12th minute that removed her from the rest of the contest. She was replaced by Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, defender Summer Ellmore, who put up a season-high 65 minutes against the Owls in Steidl’s stead. Despite Lipcomb’s possession advantage and high-pressing style, they were unable to find many clear-cut chances, and the first twenty minutes passed with few obvious opportunities for either side. One exception developed in the 26th minute, when Auburn transfer Cami Rogers fired a shot from the edge of the box that forced an outstretched save from KSU goalkeeper Dylan Pixton. The inclement weather reached its peak soon after, when lightning was spotted and a weather delay was instigated at the 27th minute. The delay that ensued lasted nearly two hours, as various lightning strikes continued to delay the restart further. Once the match did resume, though,...
by Danny Kotula | Sep 21, 2021 | News Slider, Sports, Uncategorized
The Lipscomb men’s soccer team was ranked #18 in the United Soccer Coaches’ top 25 ranking released Tuesday. The ranking represents the highest place Lipscomb have reached all season in the rankings, which are used by the NCAA to rank the best Division I programs in the nation. The Bisons are ranked in the top 25 for the fourth straight week and have been included in every regular season poll this season. After falling from #21 to #22 last week, the Bisons jump four places and close in on the top 15. “I think it’s awesome to see our team continue this unbeaten run,” said sophomore defender Will Turner in a statement. “We’ve worked very hard to get to this spot and we have no plans to slow down.” Last week, Lipscomb settled for a 1-1 draw with archrivals Belmont at home, then won in a 2-1 overtime victory at ASUN opponent Bellarmine to stay undefeated on the season. Sporting a 5-0-2 record, the Bisons are the only unbeaten team left in the Atlantic Division, where they rank 1st. In an award-laden week, junior goalkeeper Michael Sibley was also announced as the ASUN Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday. The London, England native earned his first-ever award after making nine saves and accruing an 82% save percentage across his two matches this week. Sibley and his supporting cast will hit the road to put their perfect record on the line again Tuesday night when they face Butler in Indianapolis. The 2-3-1 Bulldogs host Lipscomb for the second time in the all-time series, which Butler leads 2-0. The...
