by Savannah Stewart | Oct 20, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb Bisons volleyball squad heads into tonight’s match with first-place Kennesaw State two games back in the conference. The Lady Bisons (11-9, 4-3 ASUN) rattled off three wins last week and are playing some of their best volleyball of the season. After knocking off Belmont on October 10th, the Bisons swept NJIT on October 13th and USC Upstate the next day to put themselves right back in the conference race. Lady Bisons’ coach Brandon Rosenthal said he is very encouraged by his team’s recent play. “I’m really pleased with what we’ve seen over the past week-and-a-half as far as practice and play.],” Rosenthal said. “The big part for us was eliminating the unforced errors that we were making.” The win against Upstate was one of the most dominating of the season for the Lady Bisons, as they completed their 15th sweep of the season thus far (25-18, 25-14, 25-18). Lipscomb’s hitting percentage was .317, .484, and .387 in each set respectively in comparison to Upstate’s .256, .148, and .161. Lauren Anderson, a junior outside hitter, led the team with a career-high 15 kills on 33 attacks, to go along with three aces, two blocks, and eight digs. Maddie Phillips, a sophomore middle, and Chloe Rogers, a senior right side, had 11 kills each. Phillips had five blocks and Anderson had two. Carlyle Nusbaum had 12 kills and nine digs to round out a balanced attack. Morgan Elmore, a sophomore setter, tied a career-high for the second time in a week with 49 assists. Rosenthal spoke highly of the other programs in the league and their continued improvement in...
by Russell Vannozzi | Oct 19, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – There was a point in early October when the Lipscomb men’s soccer team had to do some serious soul-searching. Over an eleven day stretch beginning Sept. 27, the Bisons lost three consecutive ASUN conference matches by a combined score of 5-1. However, Lipscomb (8-6) has since reeled off three straight wins, including a 4-2 victory over Evansville on Wednesday evening. “We hit a stretch where we were in a funk,” junior forward Logan Paynter said. “We were struggling to get things together, but now we’re back on track and starting to roll.” Freshman forward Ihaia Delaney scored a goal in the first half, and Paynter, Ivan Alvarado and Bennie Harris each found the back of the net in the second half to power the Bisons past the Aces. “The credit goes to the guys,” coach Charles Morrow said. “They have the mentality of keeping their head down and working hard and the goals will come.” The Bisons have had their fair share of ups and downs throughout the 2017 season. The graduation of goalkeeper Micah Bledsoe left big shoes to fill in the net, while Lipscomb has been inconsistent on the attacking side of the ball. Redshirt junior goalie Christopher Zappia has made 56 saves in his first year as a full-time starter, and Morrow said Zappia has continued to show improvement as the season has progressed. “He’s done well,” Morrow said of the goalkeeper. “I think that there’s been some speed bumps along the way. Down the stretch, he’s made all the saves he needed to make . . . that’s all you can ask...
by Russell Vannozzi | Oct 12, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
Stability would not be a term used to describe the basketball career of Andrew Fleming. The 6-foot-6 guard has experienced constant changes of scenery throughout the last four seasons of his career in Nashville. The former Ensworth High School star has finally found a permanent home back in the Music City as a member of Lipscomb’s 2017-18 basketball team. Fleming was declared eligible by the NCAA last week, allowing him to fully participate in all games this season. “I just found out (last Tuesday),” Fleming said. “I kept the faith and I am so thankful for all of the opportunities I have been given.” Fleming announced his decision to transfer from Chattanooga to Lipscomb via Twitter in early May. “I love it here and I’ve been through a lot, so I’m glad Coach (Alexander) took a chance on me,” Fleming said. “Faith and values are also very important to me and that made Lipscomb a nice fit.” Fleming first gained notoriety at Ensworth, where he amassed 1,117 points in three seasons and was named TSSAA DII-AA Mr. Basketball in 2014. For his senior season, Fleming transferred to Oak Hill Academy, a prestigious prep basketball school in Wilson, Virginia. The school has produced numerous NBA stars including Kevin Durant, Rajon Rondo and Michael Beasley. Oak Hill allowed Fleming to showcase his talents to college recruiters. He took full advantage of the opportunity by hitting 72 three pointers and leading his team to a 47-1 season record and a runner-up finish in the Dick’s Nationals Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Iowa, Auburn, Florida, Memphis, Nebraska and UNLV were just a few...
by Veronika Jones and Annie Craig | Oct 10, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons recruited four freshman to play for the Lady Bisons this year, one of them being 6 foot tall, high school All-American Megan Kuper. The outside hitter has appeared in 16 of Lipscomb’s 17 games this season. Kuper has 31 kills and 13 service aces, which are both highs among the newcomers. “It’s been an amazing experience, and it’s a privilege that I have the opportunity to be apart of [the team],” Kuper said. In 2016, Kuper, an Olathe, Kansas native, led her high school team to the Kansas 6A State Championship. Kuper noted that part of her transition from high school to college has been getting used to traveling and playing competitive games throughout the school week. “The major difference between high school and college is the level of competitiveness and faster speed of the game at the college level,” she said. “It’s been hard getting used to missing so much school but the teachers and my teammates help me stay on top of it.” Despite the amount of missed classes and extra work, Kuper said having a team to support her helps a lot. “From the day I got here, we all became so close,” Kuper said. “They are my favorite people to be with every day, and I don’t get tired of them.” Her best performance of the season came at Florida on Sept. 16, when she had seven kills, two services aces and 26 total attack attempts. “I’m looking forward to all the experiences I’ll be exposed to and all the memories I will gain from the girls and coaches,” she said. Lipscomb currently has an...
by Bethany Rowland and Rachel Solomon | Oct 2, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
Lady Bisons Shay Jones once again became the “new girl” when she transferred to Lipscomb University from Daytona State Junior College at the beginning of her sophomore year, but now, she said, she is at home. Jones began her college basketball career playing at that two-year junior college in Florida near her hometown of Rockledge. During a tournament game in Daytona, Jones was approached by one of the Lipscomb assistant coaches, and they talked to her about the school and invited her to visit. “When I came on a visit, I knew this was the place for me,” Jones said. Jones’s father is a pastor, so she was raised in a Christian home, and when she stepped on Lipscomb’s campus she “knew right away” that Lipscomb was the school she wanted to attend. Jones said that the transition from Daytona State to Lipscomb was tough because Lipscomb is a much bigger school. When she arrived, she, once again, had to adjust to being the “new girl,” as she called herself. What she referred to as “the welcoming atmosphere” allowed her to settle in here. Jones said she has grown both as a person and as a basketball player. She has seen and experienced the difference between an NCAA Division 1 university basketball program and junior college basketball program. “When you play in junior college, you are playing to get to the next level,” Jones said. “Now that I’m at that next level, it is more structured. You’ve got to buckle down and follow those rules.” Jones said she is excited for her final season to begin, and she is...
by Kailey Schuyler and Josh Odum | Sep 26, 2017 | News Slider, Sports
Deep in the heart of Allen Arena, men’s soccer coach Charles Morrow reviews his team’s lineup for Saturday’s game in San Diego. Morrow, a 13-year fixture at Lipscomb still appears far more at home on the sideline of a soccer pitch than he does in his office, surrounded by soccer memorabilia, but this isn’t particularly surprising. Morrow was introduced to soccer while growing up in a predominantly Latino school district near Corpus Christi, TX. “When we went out to play at recess, we weren’t playing football; we were playing soccer,” Morrow said. As a true freshman in 1994, Morrow played for Queens College in Charlotte, which he chose because it was a co-ed school with a growing soccer program. “Good soccer and a lot of girls,” he noted, adding, “It sounded great.” However, Morrow said he struggled in his freshman year with the transition from “a big fish in a small pond” in high school to “the lower half of the roster for sure, if not lower third” at Queens. Despite this, Morrow pointed to this year as the year he realized that college soccer was what he wanted to do. Nevertheless, Morrow said the “party school” atmosphere got old. “In the early nineties, Lipscomb was a school that Church of Christ parents could send their kid to and feel good that their kids would be safe and be taught the right things . . . . What you saw was ‘I’m here because my parents are making me go here. This is where they would pay for me to go to school,’” he said. Morrow was looking for...
