Women’s tennis goes down 4-3 in season opener

Women’s tennis goes down 4-3 in season opener

The Lipscomb women’s tennis team kicked off their much-anticipated season Friday evening at the Whitworth Tennis Center against University of Alabama at Birmingham. The Lady Bisons fought hard in an epic clash between the Blazers, but they eventually went down 4-3. Still, with only six girls competing for Lipscomb due to injuries, the team showed no hesitance on the court. Bison’s Vika Dzyuba and Denise Buberl edged out UAB’s Parbis Kianoush and Marlene Herrman with a 6-4 win. Maddie Brooks and Thabile Tshatedi also had no trouble dispatching their opponents Hana Sisirak and Reghan Lynch 6-3, despite Hannah Gamage and Jaclyn Findlay’s losing 6-4. The Lady Bisons continued with the momentum into the singles rubber with Brooks and Tshatedi winning both their matches giving Lipscomb a 3-0 lead. The rest of the singles matches did not go as smoothly with Buberl and Gamage both losing in 6-4, 6-1 and 6-3, 6-2. Lipscomb’s number one player Dzyuba was forced to retire against her opponent at 7-6, 2-6, 3-4, leaving the score at three matches a piece. It was all up to Findlay as the match fell on her shoulders who was ousted 1-6, 7-5, and 6-4 against the Blazers Natalie Voss. “We had a very good chance of winning,” sophmore Findlay said. “We got a little unlucky, but we all fought really hard. It was close, and I’ll be back ready for our next match.” The team’s loss will be the least of Head Coach Jamie Aid’s worries as they prepare for Sunday’s match against MTSU. The Lady Bisons will travel to Murfreesboro on Sunday at 12 p.m. to take on MTSU’s...
Men’s soccer loses to Mercer at home

Men’s soccer loses to Mercer at home

The Lipscomb men’s soccer team (2-0-2) was defeated by Mercer at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex Thursday night with a score of 1-0 in overtime. The loss breaks the men’s undefeated record at home this season after defeating both Florida Atlantic and Western Illinois. “To lose at home in overtime the way we did with sort of a mental lapse was really disappointing,” Lipscomb coach Charles Morrow said. “I think the guys will take it extremely hard. “They didn’t want to lose at home. And they felt like at the end of the day it was a game that was there’s for the taking.” The Bisons had a promising start despite a minor setback after losing 4-1 to Georgia State on the road last week. The team reportedly remained focus going into Thursday’s game but failed to finish the job during the final minutes of the game. After a tightly contested first and second quarter with chances from both teams, Mercer’s Max Poore scored in the 91st minute of extra time, assisted by Conner Antley. “We are still trying to find a balance between playing conservatively and playing within ourselves and really sort of letting things hang out and getting after teams in the attack,” Morrow said. “It is a little bit of a process.” This was the 17th meeting between the Bears and Bisons, with Mercer leading the all time series 12-3-2. Next up, the Bisons will play in the Battle of the Boulevard against Belmont at home Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in the Lipscomb Soccer Complex.  Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics Additional reporting by Lipscomb...
Men’s hoops ousted by Tennessee Tech

Men’s hoops ousted by Tennessee Tech

The Lipscomb Men’s Basketball team suffered a loss to Tennessee Tech 81-78 Saturday afternoon at Allen Arena. The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles led the head to head with 40 wins and seven loses. The Bisons came out strong from the start, leading 46-32 at half time. The Golden Eagles capitalized on the Bisons’ sluggish start in the second half and came back to take the lead in the final stages of the game. During the final minutes of the last period, the Bisons were down 77-76, but sophomore Nathan Moran made a steal and lay up which put Lipscomb in the lead. Freshman Garrison Mathews added 16 points and six rebounds, while junior J.C. Hampton finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists. The Bisons will play their next game against rival Belmont on Monday night at 6:30 p.m. at Allen Arena. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
Volleyball advances to A-Sun championship game

Volleyball advances to A-Sun championship game

The Lipscomb women’s volleyball team defeated Jacksonville University in the semi-finals of the 2015 Atlantic Sun Conference Championships Friday evening in Allen Arena. The team will host the tournament this year and have dominated the conference all season with only one loss in conference play, earning them the number one seed in the tournament. Lipscomb dropped the first set 25-23 but came back to win set two 25-22, set three 25-15 and set four 25-21. “We knew we had to dial in a bit more and take away the errors from our side,” junior Kayla Ostrom said. “It was mostly errors that lost us the first set.” Right side senior Brittnay Estes, who won the A-Sun Played of the Year award, finished the match with 17 kills. Estes also ranks fourth in total kills for the season. Senior Molly Spitznagle ranked first in hitting percentage and blocks, while Ostrom ranked first in assists. Freshman Carlyle Nusbaum finished the season ranked second in kills-per-set. “There is a lot of pressure being the number one seed because we have lost the last three years,” Ostrom said. “But at the same time we need to do what we do best and stay confident.” The Lipscomb volleyball team will play for its fifth Atlantic Sun Championship title Saturday against either Kennesaw State or Florida Gulf Coast at 3 p.m. in Allen Arena. “We are prepared for this and have been training hard all season,” Nusbaum said. “We are all excited, but at the same time focused. We want to win this. This is our time and we are ready to take back the title.” Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
Women’s basketball team opens season with loss

Women’s basketball team opens season with loss

The Lipscomb women’s basketball team suffered a 57-52 loss in their first match of the season against Loyola Maryland Friday night in Allen Arena. The Lady Bisons headed into the match having won both exhibition games. Lipscomb defeated Freed Hardeman 63-0 and dominated Young Harris 100-61. Both teams started off slowly as they struggled to score in the early stages of the game. The Lady Bisons found their rhythm and kept a lead through the first half. The Lady Bisons led the Greyhounds 34-33 with senior Ashley Southern scoring 15 points and a school-record 20 rebounds. Junior Alex Banks also finished the first half with nine points. Southern, who finished with a double-double, proved to be an important factor in the Lady Bisons success during the preseason. Southern was voted in the preseason Atlantic Sun All-Conference team by the league’s head coaches. Last season she finished second in the A-Sun for scoring. Loyola raised the level in the third quarter with nationally ranked Colleen Marshall getting some play-time. Bri Betz-White had 14 points for the Greyhounds and five rebounds. In the final minutes of play, the Lady Bisons lost composure and started to miss a lot of shots. Loyola capitalized on this and found their rhythm, winning the tightly contested affair 57-52. “We did not perform very well offensively, and didn’t put ourselves in position to win,” head coach Greg Brown said. Marshall finished with 12 points, while fellow Greyhound Betz-White had 23 points. “We have to get a little bit better everyday and come out there with a quick turn around,” Brown said. “I have a tremendous amount of confidence...