by Danny Kotula | Oct 11, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb volleyball team beat the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 3-1 Sunday afternoon at Allen Arena. After starting the season with a 3-8 record, Lipscomb has now won five consecutive matches to improve to an even 8-8 on the year. As it has been for all five matches in the streak, defense was a strong point for the Bisons in the 4-set victory. Three Bisons finished with double-digit digs, including team-leading libero Delaney Smith with 16. “It starts with our scouting report,” Smith said. “Our coaches are great at setting us up where we’re supposed to be.” Head coach Brandon Rosenthal, on the other hand, passed the credit for the performance back to his players. “[I was] really pleased with our defense,” Rosenthal said. “I thought it was really, really stout.” “When you look at the numbers… it’s not about one, it’s about all six and doing that defensive job. I thought Smitty [Smith] was off the charts today. If you look at some of the nuances or the small plays she made today, she was really, really good.” Defensive specialist Libby Steinhardt, a freshman from Mt. Vernon, Indiana, earned 11 digs on the afternoon, giving her a new career high with Lipscomb. “I love the [other members of the team],” Steinhardt said. “The block really helped a lot, and it just felt great being able to play with everybody. I felt like we finally felt simple and played like us.” A back-and-forth first set laid the foundation for a fascinating encounter between two respected mid-major volleyball programs meeting for the first time as conference foes since 2006. The lead...
by Gunnar Eng | Oct 10, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
Kate Popova, Lipscomb women’s tennis co-captain since her junior year, has received many personal accomplishments and accolades since joining the team five years ago. A native of Ukraine, Popova has played No. 1 in singles since she was a freshman, has had a winning record in ASUN play every year, and reached first-team All-ASUN status three times. Popova gives credit to her team for helping her stay motivated and continue being a leader. “I want to win at the end of the day, and I really want to win conference before I leave,” Popova said. “This team really works hard and keeps you motivated to get better every day.” Women’s head coach Jamie Aid commends the leadership Popova has brought to the team and the dynamic that she has created within it. “There’s a lot of standards that are more or less driven by the team, and our captains put that together,” Aid said. “We have a team full of girls from all over the world, and Kate has done a great job making the culture of the team feel like a family.” Co-captain of the team Maddox Bandy also lives with Popova and considers her one of her best friends. Maddox has known Popova since she came to Lipscomb and has seen her leadership skills turn the team culture into what it is today. “It’s awesome to be team captains with her, because she pulls her own weight, and is not overbearing in any way to any of the players,” Bandy said. “She is also our No. 1 player on the team — which I think is really...
by Elly Ashlock | Oct 10, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb volleyball team came away with a clean sweep over Bellarmine Friday night in Allen Arena. The Bisons faced the Knights earlier in 2021 during their spring season, beating them in three sets. On this occasion, Lipscomb was able to secure its sixth straight win over Bellarmine this year in the same fashion. For longtime head coach Brandon Rosenthal, the key to victory was simple. “I know it sounds cliche, but I think we know what our strengths are,” Rosenthal said. “Our strengths are serves, I thought we did a great job at serve receive and then when you look at having four players in double-digits kills in a three set match, that’s hard. That’s hard to defend.” Lipscomb led from start to finish, beginning with 3 strong kills from sophomore outside hitter Kamryn Bacus. The Bisons put together a 4-0 run with serves from setter Delaney Dilfer, a sophomore from Austin, Texas. The set was pushed to 8-4 as freshman Anna Aubele and senior Logan Gish pounded back-to-back kills. Gish tallied up the most kills on the night with 13 to note. After a couple of Lipscomb errors, the Knights began to close the gap bringing the set to 14-13. As Anna Aublele logged her sixth kill of the set, the Knights called their first timeout. Returning to play, the Knights were humbled by an Addi Pelham rocket; run led by server Delaney Smith from Cincinnati, Ohio. Unable to catch up, the Knights fell in the first set 25-18 after two key service aces from outside hitter Logan Gish and defensive specialist Ashleigh Albert. Ashleigh leads the...
by Gracie Simpson | Oct 8, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
Meg Mersman, a sophomore volleyball standout, dominated in her freshman season, starting in all 20 matches for Lipscomb during the year. Greenback, Tennessee-born Mersman finished first in the ASUN and on the team with 71 total blocks, while also having a total of 171 kills on the season, including her career best 14 against North Florida. Going forward with this season and the rest of her career, she said she wants to continue to grow and be that threat to other teams. “I don’t want to just do enough.” Mersman said. “I want to stand out like I did last year…I want other people to know my name in the conference and I want the other middles from other teams to be afraid to be matched up against me.” “The reputation I built last year as a freshman is so important as I mature in age, and also maturing in what I do on the court,” Mersman said. Head coach Brandon Rosenthal scored big when Meg committed to Lipscomb after decommitting from the University of Tennessee and turning down other schools much bigger than Lipscomb. “The thing that impressed me was just her ability to change a game from a presence standpoint,” Rosenthal said. “Meg comes in with a ton of swagger, which in a lot of places I think maybe would try to hamper that, and I think we don’t. We try to encourage that.” She’s already a leader on the floor, but she’s working on herself off the floor to try and be better for the team. “There’s so many people (on this team), myself included, that...
by Danny Kotula | Oct 8, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
The Lipscomb women’s soccer team took down ASUN West Division opponent Bellarmine Thursday night at Owsley Brown Frazier Stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. The Bisons produced a 2-0 result as they started division play on the road against a Knights program which is still transitioning to Division I after moving up from Division II last season. While it was a team effort that gave the away side their fourth ASUN Conference victory of the year, the opening goal from sophomore defensive midfielder Shelby Craft stole the show in the 12th minute. Hailing from Frisco, Texas, the Penn State transfer picked up a loose ball outside the box and launched it across the face of goal into the upper right corner. “Obviously, that moment is exciting for anyone who gets to experience it,” said Craft. “To get to celebrate it with everyone who put me in position to score that goal is the sweetest thing ever.” It was a deserved Lipscomb lead inside the first quarter-hour, as head coach Kevin O’Brien’s team played as characteristic of his pressing style as ever. That high-press mentality continued to cause Bellarmine problems for the rest of the half, as they would give up a second goal just past the 20-minute mark. This time, the quality of the assist was the masterstroke, as attacking midfielder Emanuela Schurch found the ball in space, picked out an aerial pass for Auburn transfer Cami Rogers, and watched Rogers dispatch the one-on-one opportunity past Bellarmine goalkeeper Bailee Witt. With the goal, Rogers grabbed her fifth of the year, a mark that leads the Bisons and complements her three assists...
by Danny Kotula | Oct 5, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb women’s soccer goalkeeper CJ Graham is ranked 9th in the nation in save percentage after the NCAA Division I weekly statistics were updated Tuesday. The sophomore stopper boasts a .879 save rate, conceding only 7 times in 12 matches and collecting 51 total saves. Graham has also played the most overall minutes of the top 10 in save percentage, racking up 1,121 minutes this campaign. Bisons head coach Kevin O’Brien hardly seemed surprised about Graham’s accomplishments; the 10-year leader of Lipscomb’s women’s soccer program was quick to praise Graham’s work all season long. “It’s been a great debut season for CJ, no doubt!” said O’Brien. “We knew she had it in her since her arrival on campus, but to see her develop right in front of our eyes has been a coach’s joy.” “I believe that she’s improving with each and every performance and I’m confident that her best is yet to come.” Hailing from the Asheville suburb of Swannanoa, North Carolina, Graham has played every minute that the Bisons have been on the field after backing up 4-year starter Melissa Gray in goal last year. Graham boasts a wealth of experience outside of her current position; she played in the field as an attacker before being converted by her youth coaches into a goalkeeper. A graduate of Asheville STEM school Nesbitt Discovery Academy, a school with no soccer program, she played her high school soccer with the Owen High School Warlassies. At Owen, she played both goalkeeper and attacking midfielder for the varsity team. While only an 8th grader, she scored the match-winning goal in the NCISAA...
