by Brianne Welch | Sep 13, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bison Volleyball team fought hard throughout the Lipscomb Invitational, but came up short in the end. In the last match of the tournament, the Lady Bisons faced the Utes of Utah. The Pac-12 team beat Georgia Tech in three sets and ETSU in three, but Lipscomb took the Utes to four sets. The team lost the first two sets right out of the gate. The first set 25-18 and the second 25-17, but going into the locker room head coach Brandon Rosenthal had a talk with his team to get them prepared for set three. “There was a talk with the team. There’s an expectation that they’ve set, and it’s their responsibility to go after it,” Rosenthal said. Following the first two sets, the Lady Bisons came out on fire to win the third set 25-15 becoming the first team in the tournament to take Utah to four sets. Despite their efforts, the Lady Bisons came up three points short in the final set losing 25-22; however, Rosenthal was pleased with the effort from his team. “The talk after the match was just, hey I like what I saw,” Rosenthal said. “There is no chewing out or what not, well there was a little chewing out between two and three, but after the match, I mean, they gave me everything they had there in two and three, and that’s all you can ask for, and I’m really pleased with that.” At the end of the match, the Lady Bisons had more kills than the Utes, but were out-blocked. Brittnay Estes led the team with 13 kills in...
by Aaron Schmelzer | Aug 29, 2014 | Sports
Lipscomb Volleyball is set to begin a highly anticipated season, and the Lady Bisons, despite a high preseason ranking, are looking beyond the honor to focus on the bigger task at hand, as coach Brandon Rosenthal said. “For us, the end goal is a championship,” said Rosenthal, who is entering his twelfth season as head coach of the Lady Bisons. He mentioned that while being voted as the top team in the Atlantic Sun conference is quite the honor, it is simply an honor. Lipscomb is returning six of seven starters from last year, and of those players, Bri McCombs, Jewell Dobson and Lauren Ford all won preseason awards. McCombs earned preseason Atlantic Sun Defensive Player of the Year, Dobson was voted Atlantic Sun preseason Player of the Year and Ford received a place on the All-Conference team. The Lady Bisons will get an opportunity to cash in on the predictions, as they face four top 25 ranked teams during the season. Their schedule kicks off with back-to-back ranked opponents, Creighton and Kansas ranked 23 and 22 respectively, on the first day of the season. Matchups with no. 15 ranked Missouri and no. 19 ranked Kentucky will be happening on Sept. 5 and 19. When scheduling these matchups, Rosenthal is only thinking about one thing: winning. He has great confidence in the team and thinks highly of its capability. “We’re [playing top schools] because I feel like that’s the group that we’re in,” said Rosenthal. He also talked about the team being historically a “slower-starting team, so we’re always looking to buck the trend.” Slow start or no, Rosenthal...
by Aaron Schmelzer | Apr 25, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
Student athletes and coaches filled the court of Allen Arena on Thursday night, but this time, it was not for a game. The Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) hosted the inaugural Lippy Awards in Allen Arena to honor various members of Lipscomb University’s sports teams. The awards show was hosted by student TJ Ojehomon and women’s soccer assistant coach Chris Klotz. Both female and male athletes of the year were competitive categories, but for the female award, sophomore cross country/track and field runner Dani Walker and junior volleyball player Jewell Dobson tied. On the men’s side, track and field high-jumper Gemikal Prude, who broke the high jump record earlier in the year, won as well. Prude said that winning the award was a blessing. “Winning this is quite the blessing,” Prude said. “It’s a feeling that can’t really be described, especially when you feel as if you’re undeserving.” The biggest award of the night, the Best Team Award, went to the women’s track and field/cross country. Senior runner Lacey Printz said that the team worked hard and credited the coaches and team captains for keeping the team focused. “This is the most incredible team we’ve had, and we just love running together and just having fun and doing it for God’s glory,” Printz said. To open the night, the James R. Byers Award was presented to senior track and field sprinter Tucker Peabody, senior volleyball player Caitlin Dotson and junior cross country/track and field runner Tessa Hoefle. The award is given to a top senior athlete who displays outstanding Christian leadership and excels academically and athletically. The honors had...
by Aaron Schmelzer | Feb 19, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
Junior volleyball players Lauren Ford and Jewell Dobson will represent Lipscomb University in the tryouts for the United States Volleyball Team, an honor given to only two other athletes in school history. The others, Jake Pease and Alex Kelly, played together from the 2007-08 season to the 2010-11 season. “I grew up looking up to Alex Kelly and Jake Pease, who have been in this position before,” outside hitter Lauren Ford said. “I would look up to [Pease and Kelly], hoping to be as good as them.” “They’re the type of players who have left a legacy at Lipscomb, and to be in the same position they have been in says a lot,” middle blocker Jewell Dobson said. “It just says a lot about our success and the success that the program has had.” The tryouts begin Feb. 21 and go until Feb. 23 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Volleyball head coach Brandon Rosenthal said that the difference between Pease and Kelly and Dobson and Ford is that the girls this year are going together. In the past, Pease and Kelly traveled separately to the tryouts. This time around, Dobson and Ford will travel together, although Rosenthal doesn’t know if they’ll room together. “I just want them to go and have a great time and just do their best,” Rosenthal said. Rosenthal also said that the only difference the girls will see at the tryouts is the increase in altitude. He mentioned that the ball flies through the air a bit differently, but it will not make a huge difference. The coach, who just finished his...
by Travis Byrd | Aug 29, 2013 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons have spent the last 265 days thinking about how their season ended short of their fourth straight Atlantic Sun Championship. This Lady Bisons team can’t wait for redemption. They are living this season by the team’s new motto, “Can’t Wait.” “After winning three championships in a row, we are in new territory this year with this idea of coming up short. ‘Can’t Wait’ came to me just in the sense of ‘I can’t wait to be with my teammates, can’t wait to practice, can’t wait to do weights, can’t wait to travel,’” said Coach Brandon Rosenthal. Last year was a different year for the Lady Bisons, as the team has claimed a seat in the NCAA tournament for four of the past six years. According to Rosenthal, there is something the team has to regain this season to get back to that level. “We have to get back that swagger. We had a tremendous year last year going 15-3 in conference, and then losing in the semi final. Some of the aura to playing us has diminished,” Rosenthal said. “There was a time we were untouchable. By no means is this a lesser team. I believe they need to find that swagger and believe in themselves.” “As a team we are definitely looking at winning the A-Sun,” said junior Lauren Ford. “Our main goal as a team is to win the Atlantic Sun conference and go farther into the NCAA tournament than we have before, which is past the first round.” Ford was one of three Lady Bisons named to the pre-season All-American team. According to Ford, she...
