by Spencer Boehme | Apr 4, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
On Saturday night, Lipscomb’s four seniors were just two consecutive FGCU points away from never seeing the NCAA tournament in their college careers. In the fifth set, FGCU’s Erin Shomaker gave the Eagles a 14-13 lead to set up match point. All the Eagles had to do was collect the next point, and that would have been ballgame. But then three of the Bisons’ seniors aided in a 3-0 run that ultimately gave the Bisons the win Saturday evening. Senior hitter Megan Kuper tied the game on kill, and senior blocker Sami Rubal assisted with a block after that. And then it was senior defensive specialist Ashley Maher who set the ball up for junior hitter Garret Joiner, who rocketed it past FGCU libero Dana Axner near the back endline for the game-winner. The ASUN named Rubal the tournament MVP, and Dilfer and senior libero Alyssa Zwolensky received All-Tournament team honors. It will be the eighth NCAA tournament appearance in Lipscomb history, all of which have come under 18-year head coach Brandon Rosenthal. Lipscomb first advanced to the tourney in 2007. The Bisons have won the ASUN championship seven times (they received an at-large bid in 2014). ESPNU will air the selection show at 3 p.m. CT. The Division I volleyball tournament will be played in Omaha, Nebraska. Rubal and Kuper led the way with 14 and 13 kills for Lipscomb, while Joiner followed up with 12. Freshman Delaney Dilfer once again had an impeccable evening setting the ball, as she accounted for 50 assists after garnering 53 the night before. For FGCU, the sophomore hitter Shomaker wreaked havoc...
by Spencer Boehme | Mar 28, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
Bellarmine’s volleyball program has talent. But it doesn’t hide the fact that it just joined Division I, and a Lipscomb squad that’s only lost two games all year wasn’t about to get upset on its home court Saturday night. Lipscomb (15-2, No. 1 ASUN North) played host to a Bellarmine team (4-13, No. 4 ASUN North) that posed some challenges. But the Bisons ultimately enjoyed set victories of 25-19, 25-18 and 25-16 and will play North Florida on Friday. Lipscomb dialed in a .361 hitting percentage, while the Knights only rang in a .176 mark. Bison seniors Megan Kuper and Sami Rubal combined for 26 kills on the night, with Rubal’s .667 hitting percentage leading both teams. Freshman Delaney Dilfer’s 40 assists paced Lipscomb. Bellarmine has a talented sophomore blocker in Hannah Brown, as her 14 kills and .423 hitting percentage caused the Bisons some headaches. Junior Sam Rickert assisted 30 times as well. Bellarmine led 3-1 and later tied at 10-10 in the first frame, setting up for what seemed to be a good game. But that’s what outmatched teams often do — the Bisons slowly widened the gap to 22-17 before the Knights had to call a timeout. Lipscomb won the first set 25-19. The Knights kept the second set close and were down 14-16 off a service error from Megan Kuper, but a 4-0 Lipscomb run put the frame out of reach and ultimately led to the 25-18 win. Lipscomb led the final set 24-13, and Bellarmine made a last-gasp effort with a 3-0 run before Lanie Wagner sent the ball to the right side of the court to...
by Spencer Boehme | Mar 12, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
By many metrics, this was a good season for the Lipscomb Lady Bisons basketball team. For a program that had won four combined conference games in the past two seasons, Lipscomb improved with a winning record in ASUN play and an undefeated home record. That successful season came to a close with a 59-44 loss against the No. 1 seeded FGCU Eagles on Friday afternoon. 13 points from center Dorie Harrison and 11 from senior Taylor Clark were the highlights, as Lipscomb played close multiple times but could never really sustain momentum. Surprisingly, the troublemaker for FGCU was not sophomore transfer Kiersten Bell, who came in with nearly 25 points a game. She managed nine points on 3-of-17 from the floor. Rather, it was Aaliyah Stanley, whose 25 points led the way for the Eagles. Lipscomb went 16-of-57 from the floor, while FGCU went 16-of-58. But FGCU made 11 three-pointers as opposed to just four for the Lady Bisons, and Lipscomb struggled from the charity stripe (8-of-14). The game started out with a major stalemate, with neither team scoring until the 6:31 mark in the first quarter off a layup from Bell. Lipscomb used an 11-0 run to take a lead of 18-15 with 6:06 left in the second but got shut out going into halftime with a 26-18 deficit. The third quarter wasn’t much better, with Lipscomb down 39-25 after a Stanley triple with just under three minutes left. Lipscomb used an 8-0 run early in the fourth to narrow the deficit to just nine with 6:48 left in the fourth. That was the closest the Lady Bisons would...
by Spencer Boehme | Mar 8, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
During the early part of the season, Lipscomb softball often travels to various invites in other states and doesn’t play as many home games as they do during the conference slate. But this weekend, the Lady Bisons hosted two teams from the Midwest for an invite held at Draper Diamond. Lipscomb got the better of the weekend, going 4-1 with a sweep of Loyola Chicago and a split with Oakland (Mich.). The Ramblers swept Oakland, while Oakland went 1-3. The Lady Bisons are 9-7, while Loyola drops to 2-9. Oakland is 1-3. Lipscomb opened the weekend with a two-game series Friday. Sophmore Kyndall Crawford led the way with 3 RBIs as the Lady Bisons beat Loyola 5-0. Graduate pitcher Maddie Siemer (2-0) notched the win in a 7-inning game where she struck out six and only allowed two hits. The Lady Bisons capped off Friday night with a 9-4 decision over Oakland before falling to the same squad the following day, 4-2. In the Saturday cap, neither Lipscomb nor Loyola scored until the final sequence of a game that went all the way into the 10th inning. Shortstop Madison Ebeling hit a double that sent Abbey Jacobsen home to give Loyola a 1-0 lead, but Lipscomb scored two runs in the bottom of the tenth. The game-winner came from a double by junior third baseman Olivia Ward, which sent sophomore Presley Leebrick home. Lipscomb capped off the weekend with a 9-1 win over Loyola on Sunday. Both teams were tied at one heading into the bottom of the sixth before Lipscomb run-ruled Loyola with eight in the bottom of...
by Spencer Boehme | Mar 3, 2021 | News Slider, Sports, Uncategorized
On March 3, 2020, the No. 3-seeded Lipscomb men’s basketball team beat No. 6 FGCU 68-63 off a 40-point effort from center Ahsan Asadullah. The game was played in Nashville less than 24 hours after a devastating tornado struck Middle Tennessee. So many things have changed since then, and I don’t even think I have to tell you what all of them are. But this year’s edition of the ASUN men’s basketball tournament will be single-city (as will the women’s), with teams participating on the campuses of Jacksonville University and North Florida, both located in Jacksonville. Much like last season, the Bisons (15-11, 9-6 ASUN) once again hold the three seed, with the Eagles (9-7, 4-5 ASUN) taking up the No. 6 spot. Neither team has played a full 16-game conference slate, although FGCU’s cancellation-littered schedule is more notable. The game is scheduled for Thursday night at 6 p.m. CT, to be played in Swisher Gymnasium at JU. Disappointment is really the first thing that comes to mind for how the Bisons’ season went. They were picked to win their conference (which could still happen in the tournament) but now sit behind Liberty and Division I newcomer Bellarmine. Inconsistent play and the inability to hold large leads have created headaches for this squad all season long. Redshirt junior Ahsan Asadullah is once again the leading scorer at 14.2 points per game, but he had a slow start to the season before putting up bigger numbers late. Grad transfer Romeao Ferguson adds 13.6 points per game at the shooting guard position, and sophomore guard KJ Johnson is the lone other...
