by Erika Plunkett | Apr 5, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
After winning a five-set thriller against FGCU in the ASUN tournament final on Saturday night, the Lady Bisons clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament. Sunday afternoon, ESPNU hosted the selection show that announced Lipscomb would travel to play No. 23 Georgia Tech on April 14th in the first round of the tournament. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lipscomb Volleyball (@lipscombvball) In three previous matchups, Lipscomb is 0-2 against the Yellow Jackets. This will be their first meeting since 2019. This is the Lady Bisons’ eighth tournament appearance and first since 2016. Due to the pandemic, not only the timing of the tournament, but also the format of the tournament is different. Instead of the usual 64 teams, only 48 teams will be going to the big dance and the entirety of the tournament will be played in Omaha, Nebraska. This first-round game will be played at 6 PM CT on April 14th. Graphic courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Micah Kennedy | Apr 5, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons closed out the regular season campaign with a 1-1 draw against ASUN newcomer, Bellarmine. The tie means that the team finishes the season with an undefeated conference record heading into postseason play. The match was tightly contested early on with strong defensive play from both teams. The defense was so intense that at halftime both teams only had one attempt at goal. At the 13:50 mark, Bellarmine’s Zenia Nava attempted a shot and Lipscomb senior goalkeeper Melissa Gray had the save. At the 42:51 mark, Lipscomb midfielder freshman Evee Reeder attempted a shot and Bellarmine’s Elyssa Francis had the save. It was 0-0 going into the second half. The offense started to pick up in the second period of play with Bellarmine scoring first. At the 50-minute mark, Isabella Zamborini scored a goal off the assist from Alex Harber. Less than ten minutes later Lipscomb responded with a goal from junior midfielder Kelli Beiler coming off junior midfielder Emanuela Schurch’s assist. The Lady Bisons were more aggressive the rest of the way with four more shot attempts requiring a save from Bellarmine’s Francis. The action required two overtime periods. The Bisons applied pressure the rest of the way, attempting six shots over the 20 minutes. A game-winner was almost scored by senior midfielder Kaitlin Echols near the 104-minute mark. Bellarmine goalkeeper Francis continued her strong performance with a clutch save. After 110 minutes of defensive soccer, both teams would have to leave with a draw added to their records. The ASUN tournament commences on April 10th as the Lady Bisons will be battling to three-peat as conference...
by Erika Plunkett | Apr 4, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
After getting swept in their previous ASUN matchup, the Bisons came home with something to prove and behind a huge rally on Thursday night, a dominating performance from freshman outfielder Tiger Borom on Saturday and despite a loss on Friday afternoon Lipscomb took the series 2-1 from Bellarmine. Thursday afternoon, sophomore pitcher Scott Elgin got his first start of the season and fell behind the Knights 7-0 in the first four innings. Pitchers freshmen Patrick Williams and Ike Buxton came in in relief and did not allow another run from the Knights. Meanwhile an offensive 9-0 run by the Bisons from the fifth to the eight led by a five RBI performance from junior Chris Bashlor gave the Bisons the lead going into the ninth. Sophomore closer Tyler Guilfoil came for a 1-2-3 inning to clinch game one for the Bisons. Junior Max Habegger started Friday’s matchup and shutout the Knights until the fifth inning, when infielder Josh Finerty hit 2 RBI double to go ahead 2-0. Lipscomb cut Bellarmine’s lead in half with an RBI single from junior outfielder Maddux Houghton in the seventh and almost tied the game before sophomore Chaz Bertolani was called out at the plate. But the Knights were not done scoring, as they added five runs in the top of the ninth to extend their lead to six. The Bisons once again got their scoring going late in the game, but junior infielder Malik Williams’s RBI single and senior infielder Haddon Adams’s three run homer proved to be too little too late for the Lipscomb, who fell 7-5. Saturday afternoon, Coach Forehand switched...
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 Hannah Cron | Apr 3, 2021 | News, News Slider
In case you missed it, Lumination Network is hosting our very own March Madness bracket tournament, March Madness: Lipscomb Dining Edition. The online tournament pits on-campus dining options against local favorite restaurants to determine the best place to eat while at Lipscomb. Competitors include campus center staples such as Chick-Fil-A and Starbucks as well as off-campus spots like Martin’s Bar-B-Que Joint and Taqueria Del Sol. The first round kicked off on March 23, but it is not too late to make your picks! Check one of Lumination’s social media accounts to view the bracket and vote to choose between your favorite of the day’s two choices. The winner of the daily poll will advance to the next round of the tournament. The Final Four will begin on April 4 and the championship match-up is set for April 6. May the best restaurant win!...
by Schyler Jones | Apr 2, 2021 | News, News Slider
Last Wednesday, March 24, Lipscomb’s ACON (Asian Community) club painted the bison to say, “Protect Asian Lives,” following the massacre of 8 women, 6 of whom were of Asian descent, in Atlanta spas on the 16 of March. Sophomore Corporate Management student Cindy Hong is President of ACON and explained why they spray-painted those words: “With the recent massacre that happened in Atlanta, and nationwide there’s been a lot of anti-Asian hate crimes, we just wanted to create awareness and show solidarity and respect to those who lost their lives and give a message to Lipscomb’s student body that there should be zero tolerance to Asian hate. It was also to share a message to other Asian-Americans that we hear them and see them. We shared a picture of the painted bison on our ACON Instagram so that people would know we are a resource and would feel free to DM/come to us.” Wednesday night, though, the bison was painted over to say, “Cookout: This is all that matters.” Hong described how she felt when she found out the bison had been vandalized. “I was kind of shocked but not shocked at the same time because it was something I kind of saw coming but it is still very shocking in a way where I can’t believe someone would do that. Of course I was mad, angered, very sad, I felt like I was being struck.” Many students on campus felt the same way. This is not the first time the bison has been defaced. In 2020, the bison was vandalized twice, first over an LGBTQ+ painting, then over...
