by Erika Plunkett | Jan 30, 2021 | BREAKING NEWS, News, News Slider, Sports
Friday morning the ASUN conference announced the arrival of three new teams, Eastern Kentucky, Central Arkansas, and Jacksonville State, as well as the addition of NCAA FCS football to the sports offered by the conference. All three teams will join the conference in the 2021-2022 school year and will bring the total enrollment to 12 teams in the ASUN. “When a conference embarks on a mission to strengthen itself through expansion, it has to present a case for why a membership with one conference would be more beneficial to the institution than membership in its current conference,” ASUN Commissioner Ted Gumbart said in a release from the conference. “The ASUN spent two years examining and defining its advantages and then presenting interested candidates with the option to join. Every institution will select the best option for conference affiliation from the available options. Each institution owes it to the student body, the athletic department and the university community as a whole to do what is best for the university. The ASUN works extremely hard to build options. To know that these three institutions have evaluated their options, and knowing each had multiple choices for conference affiliation and that they chose the ASUN is a great achievement. The ASUN Presidents’ Council set this process in place years ago when the Council members challenged the conference to be a great destination, and that would attract new member interest. The plan has worked and we are thankful for the visionary leadership of our Council to prioritize the student-athlete experience and the institutional value of being a member of the ASUN.” Jacksonville State is...
by Erika Plunkett | Jan 29, 2021 | News, News Slider, Sports
In their first matchup since 2007, Lipscomb defeated the UAB Blazers, for the first time ever, in a three-set sweep Friday afternoon and continued their winning streak in game one of a doubleheader between the Blazers and the Bisons. Following their sweep of MTSU last weekend Lipscomb secured all three ASUN weekly awards, with senior outside hitter Megan Kuper winning Player of the Week, freshman middle blocker Meg Mersman winning Defensive Player of the Week, and freshman setter Delaney Dilfer winning Freshman of the Week. Kuper, Mersman, and Dilfer continued their hot streak against the Blazers putting up a combined 14 kills, seven blocks, three aces, 13 digs, and 31 assists. Meanwhile, UAB came into the night with an 0-1 record, after suffering a loss in November 2020 against WKU before their fall season was cut short by COVID. Following the two-month pause, UAB started off slowly in the match and quickly fell behind. Lipscomb, however, started off on a hot streak winning the first set of the match 25-15, behind six kills from junior outside hitter Lanie Wagner. But the second set started in favor of the Blazers until Lipscomb went on a 9-0 run served by freshman libero Delaney Smith. While the Blazers kept the third set close, trading the lead with the Bisons six times, it was Lipscomb who would finally pull away and complete the three-game sweep. Despite the loss, Fernanda Maida finished the night with 11 kills, five blocks, and five digs, leading the way for the Blazers. Lipscomb travels down to Birmingham tomorrow afternoon to continue the doubleheader matchup against UAB before traveling...
by Erika Plunkett | Jan 25, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
It’s been 441 days and one full calendar year since the last Lipscomb Volleyball game in Allen Arena, but Sunday afternoon, the Lady Bisons were finally able to return to Don Meyer court and kick off their home campaign with a 3-1 victory over the MTSU Blue Raiders. After COVID-19 delayed fall NCAA sports and all of the LUV team spent 28 days in quarantine, conducting team meetings and workouts via zoom in their isolated rooms, Lipscomb’s volleyball season seemed in jeopardy. But, head coach Brandon Rosenthal and his team persevered and are now getting to reap the rewards of their hard work and patience over this extended off-season. Although COVID-19 caused a number of problems for Lipscomb, the hardships brought this team together, producing the tightest knit group that the team has seen in a while. This team chemistry allowed the Lady Bisons to win in dominating fashion this weekend. Sunday’s matchup was part of a doubleheader that began on Friday afternoon in Murfreesboro, where the Bisons walked away with a 3-0 win. Sunday the Lady Bisons also got off to a quick start winning the first set 25-8, but it was the Blue Raiders who came out strong in the second set and evened the match at 1-1, capitalizing on a number of attack errors from the Bisons. In sets three and four, Lipscomb’s Kuper and senior middle blocker Samantha Rubal, who each netted 16 kills on the afternoon, proved to be too much for the Blue Raiders, who weren’t able to keep their momentum from the second set. Other key contributors for the Lady Bisons were...
by John Tomlinson | Jan 24, 2021 | Galleries, News Slider, Sports
After a crushing defeat on Friday night, Lipscomb was still looking for their confidence in round 2 of the home series matchup against FGCU. With a little spurring for the Bisons the first half still started off similarly to how their previous contest finished up, stunted on offense. Luckily for Lipscomb, the Eagles looked cold at the start of this matchup too, and only 19 points were scored in the first 10 minutes of the half. The defense was at a maximum to start off this ballgame. Midway through the first half though Lipscomb seemed to finally find their energy after a technical foul called on FGCU the Bison’s held that momentum into the half with a nine-point lead. And for the first time all weekend, the Bisons looked to have the energy and chemistry that was lacking Friday night. One of the most standout performances of the night for the Bisons came from Freshman Will Pruitt. Pruitt saw his most minutes in a conference matchup so far with 18 coming off the bench. Down the stretch of the 2nd half as well, he seemed to be the pacesetter for Lipscomb. Lipscomb held upon their strong defense going into the second half but saw their lead shrink down with a scoring drought midway through the second half. In the second half, they saw a fancy Pruitt finish at the rim, and some more needed energy on offense to keep their lead at two. Jumpers from Ferguson and Johnson, along with a three-ball from Hazen had them rolling down the stretch as they pulled out a win at home. This...
by John Tomlinson | Jan 23, 2021 | Galleries, News, News Slider, Sports, Uncategorized
Lipscomb came off of a split last weekend with UNF and looked poised to bounce back against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, but the Bisons were unable to stop the Eagles who outplayed Lipscomb in the second half and won by a score of 79-69. With an 11-0 run to start off the game for Lipscomb, things looked optimistic in the first half. However, from there, FGCU went on a 19-4 scoring run that had them up midway through the first half by four. The Bisons managed to claw their way back towards the end of the half with a three-pointer from sophomore guard KJ Johnson, free throws from senior guard Romeao Ferguson and hustle plays from senior forward Parker Hazen. With the late surge in the first half, Lipscomb found themselves ahead 36-32 going into the halftime break. With a fairly even first half from the conference foes, the question was who would pull ahead in the second half. As Lipscomb has been struggling to hold leads in recent matchups, the Bisons were hoping to break the trend with some reliable defense for the second half. Out of the gates, things were neck and neck. Both teams battled for the lead, but once the Eagles took the lead with 12:36 in the second half, they wouldn’t look back. Lipscomb tried to hold on, closing the lead back to three with six minutes remaining in the contest, but then with back-to-back 3’s from FGCU, the game became out of reach for the Bisons. The Bisons had no answer for the 47 point explosion in the second half from FGCU,...
by Mckenzi Harris and Erika Plunkett | Jan 16, 2021 | News Slider, Sports
It all came down to the three-point line, as North Florida’s rain of shots from outside the arc rained on Lipscomb’s temporary conference lead in the second game of a weekend series. After beating North Florida 84-72 the night before, the Lipscomb Bisons forfeited their lead in the ASUN conference race falling 72-67 on Saturday afternoon. Picking up where they left off Friday, both teams competed in a battle of runs with Lipscomb seeming to take control of the game on a number of occasions before the sharp shooting Ospreys demonstrated their skill from outside the arc closing the gap until they eventually broke even or took the lead. The Ospreys totaled 13 three-pointers in the game, and the Bisons, who connected on a season-high 25 free throws Friday night, were not able to get the same advantage from the charity stripe on Saturday afternoon, making only 13 points off North Florida fouls. Despite their challenges from downtown, Lipscomb dominated in the paint, led by junior center Ahsan Asadullah who finished with a double double after scoring 16 points and totaling 12 rebounds. In total, the Bisons outscored the Ospreys down low 39-20. When all was said and done, North Florida was able to hit a couple extra field goals giving them just enough of an advantage to pull off the series split against the Bisons. North Florida (4-10, 2-2 ASUN) remains tied for third-place in the early ASUN season, whereas the Bisons (9-7, 4-2 ASUN) fall to a tie for second-place alongside their conference rival Liberty. Lipscomb will host FGCU (5-4, 0-2 ASUN) at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday....
