by Eric Ansett | Sep 12, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s soccer team maintained its spotless home record on Sunday, earning a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Wright State, a member of the Horizon League. The win improved the Bisons’ record to 6-1-1 on the season, including a 4-0-1 home record. “Sunday games are always tough,” coach Kevin O’Brien said after the contest. “We’ve got girls that played 90 minutes on Friday and then 90 more today, so it was really gritty for us to get the win.” After a scoreless first 45 minutes, things quickly got exciting during the second half of play. Lipscomb broke the 0-0 tie when sophomore Brooke Brenner’s shot found the back of the net in the 57th minute. Wright State’s Niki Romero answered with a goal of her own in the 80th minute, but the Bisons quickly took the permanent lead just two minutes later with a goal by sophomore Lindsay Brent, who was assisted by Emily Rogers. In a hectic final eight minutes, Lipscomb was able to hold the Raiders scoreless and hold the victory. “Wright St. was one overtime away from going to the NCAA tournament last season, and they had some really special players that were tough to cover,” O’Brien said. “I was especially proud of the way we rebounded so quickly after they tied the game. We didn’t hang our heads, and I think that says a lot about us as a team.” Lipscomb and Wright St. both had five shots on target in the match. Both teams put significant pressure on the opposing defenses, especially in the second half. The Bisons have a busy week on the soccer pitch as...
by KJ Lauck | Sep 11, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb women’s volleyball (8-2) finished a successful opening home weekend with a 3-0 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies (4-5) in the final match of the LUV Invite. The Lady Bisons went 2-0 in their first two matches at the invite, besting two “Power-5” schools, Ole Miss and Northwestern, in the process. Lipscomb found a groove late in the first set and trailed the Hokies 13-10. “This is one of those where they had to dig deep,” head coach Brandon Rosenthal said. Back-to-back blocks by freshman Maddie Philips and a Virginia Tech error helped Lipscomb storm back to trim the Hokie lead to one, 19-18. Lipscomb came all the way back to claim the first set, 25-21. The teams had the same amount of digs with 18, but Lipscomb held the advantage in kills 14-8, blocks 5-3 and assists 13-6. The Lady Bisons had three players who had four digs and were lead by senior Kayla Ostrom, who had eight assists, which was two more than Virginia Tech had as a team. “Kayla does a fantastic job, and I told her earlier in the match we were going to need her leadership, and I believed in her,” Rosenthal said. Once the Lady Bisons found their collective groove, Lipscomb started establishing the pace and raced out to an early 6-1 lead in the second set. The contest would remain tight till the end as the Lady Bisons held a 19-18 lead this time. Lipscomb held on late and won the second set 25-21. They led in digs 13-12, kills 15-10, blocks 5-4 and assists 14-8. The Lady Bisons were lead...
by Micah Dempsey | Sep 10, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb volleyball (6-2) beat Ole Miss (8-1) in straight sets and beat Northwestern (5-3) by a score of 3-1 to conclude the first day of play at the fifth annual Lipscomb Invitational on Friday, September 9 in Allen Arena. The team came into the tournament with a 4-2 record after trips to the Pepperdine Asics Classic in Malibu, California, and the American Campus Classic in Austin, Texas. They have not played a single five set match this season — a streak that continued after Friday’s games. “Momentum is a huge thing in volleyball,” head coach Brandon Rosenthal noted. “I think more than anything it’s the belief system behind that momentum, and everything that goes through [the players’] heads.” The Lady Bisons handed Ole Miss, an SEC foe, its first loss of the season in a match in which they won the first set 25-23, the second set 25-21 and the third set 25-15 in powerful fashion. Coaches and players agreed that the energy was exactly where it needed to be for both the players and the fans. Lipscomb outside hitter Carlyle Nesbaum led the match with 15 kills and also posted a .310 hitting percentage while outside hitter Lauren Anderson led the match with a .500 hitting percentage and junior defensive specialist libero Brittany Thomas contributed a match-high 13 digs. As a team, the Lady Bisons had 42 assists to Ole Miss’ 24 and added 31 digs compared to Ole Miss’ 23 in the win. As the team transitioned to the night game against the Northwestern Wildcats, Northwestern got out to an early lead due to multiple blocks and...
by George Wong | Sep 9, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
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...
by Todd Lamberth | Sep 8, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb baseball program has experienced its share of success over the last decade, in large part due to the quality of players brought in. That quality was evident over the summer as three Bisons found success playing in the Cape Cod summer league. The Cape Cod league is the most prestigious summer league for college baseball players. Multiple future Major League Baseball All-Stars and Hall of Famers have played for the league. Junior centerfielder Michael Gigliotti and classmate-pitchers Brady Puckett and Jeffrey Passantino participated in the league this summer and played for the Falmouth Commodores. This marked the first time Lipscomb has ever sent more than one player to the league. For Gigliotti, getting a chance to play in the league was a dream come true. “It’s a lot of kids’ ultimate goal to play there for the summer,” Gigliotti said. “To finally go there and have a full summer there and have success is unexplainable.” The members of the Bison trio were all named All-Stars of the league and recruited to the “All-League” team at the season’s end to help Falmouth get to the league championship series. “That was the best part,” Gigliotti said. “To go there with my two other teammates and them have success too. We went and represented our school really well, but it was more than just for ourselves.” Gigliotti posted a .310 batting average during the summer and accounted for 18 RBIs, ranking him third and second respectively in the league. His play helped him earn the ranking as the eighth-best player in the league according to D1baseball.com. Puckett picked up the most wins for a pitcher...
by Lindsey Nance | Sep 5, 2016 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s soccer team (4-1-1) defeated Austin Peay at the Lipscomb University Soccer Complex Sunday night 3-1. This win solidifies the women’s undefeated record at home. After a big win over MTSU last Thursday, the Lady Bisons kept their momentum and came out energized and ready to play. “I thought we were the aggressors,” Coach Kevin O’Brien said. Olivia Doak continued to prove herself as she sent two hard balls into the net within the first 10 minutes. Teams are starting to scout her out, but she has still managed to find ways around their schemes and get the ball in the net. These were Olivia’s fifth and sixth goals this season. “She’s powerful, and she’s skillful. She’s got a nice finishing touch,” O’Brien said. The third Lady Bison goal came easily in the first-half from junior Natalie DuBoise. Maycie McKay lined her up for the shot with her third assist for the game. Austin Peay’s only goal came from a penalty kick from junior Kirstin Robertson in the 25th minute. Senior goalkeeper Anna Buhigas had three saves to help seal the deal on the defensive side. Lipscomb’s record with Austin Peay now sits at 4-8-1. Next up, the women’s soccer team looks to snatch a road-win against Alabama State on Friday at 6 p.m. The Bisons return home to face Wright State at the Lipscomb Soccer Complex on Sunday at 1 p.m. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
