by Brianne Welch | Nov 30, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons Volleyball team received an at large bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time in Atlantic Sun history Sunday night. After the most recent RPI ranking was released on Nov. 24, the Lady Bisons moved into the no. 31 spot. Based on the wins throughout the season, different rankings during the season and their record of 21-8, the team was granted a bid into the NCAA tournament where they will face Ohio State in the first round. The Lady Bisons won the conference regular season championship, but fell to Jacksonville 3-1 in the tournament championship game. JU will take on Florida State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It is the first time that the Atlantic Sun has placed two teams in the tournament. The game will take place Friday Dec. 5 at 4 p.m. CST in Lexington, Kent. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Gemikal Prude | Nov 2, 2014 | Sports
Halloween was a day for tricks and treats, but in Allen Arena, it was also a day for an important volleyball matchup. The Lady Bisons pulled off a 3-0 victory against conference foe, Stetson in fairly quick fashion. Libero Bri McCombs led the Lady Bisons with a match-high 16 digs. Jordan Huston also posted a match-high 34 assists while adding a service ace and three kills, and Brittnay Estes had a match high .538 hitting percentage. The Student Athletic Advisory Committee organized some fun for the fans also Halloween night. Several athletic teams dressed up in costume while they supported the Lady Bisons. The track and cross country team dressed as the 101 Dalmations. The softball team dressed as phone apps, and women’s basketball dressed as Noah’s ark. Several other athletes dressed up as well. In between the third and fourth sets of the game the athletes handed out candy to any children who were at the game, and they were also dressed in costume. On Saturday the Lady Bisons stepped into the number one spot in the conference after defeating Florida Gulf Coast 3-1. Both squads now have one loss within the conference. Next week, Lipscomb will be traveling to Florida to play North Florida on Friday and Jacksonville Saturday. Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR. Photo gallery by Erin...
by Brianne Welch | Oct 21, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
For the first time since 2011, the Battle of the Boulevard, volleyball edition, returned to Allen Arena. The Lady Bisons defeated the Lady Bruins in three sets Tuesday night. The closest that Belmont came to winning was in the third set, but Lipscomb finished it off winning 25-21. Senior outside hitter Lauren Ford finished off the night with 10 kills. Ford talked about what it means to rekindle the rivalry with Belmont. “The rivalry is huge. It’s awesome coming back on the court and playing again against them,” Ford said. “Some of the younger girls don’t necessarily have that same passion against Belmont, and so it’s fun to kind of teach them that this is how we do it, and this is the way we play against them every time no matter what.” The Lady Bisons took the first set 25-19 and the second 25-17. Junior Brittany Estes led the way for the quick three-and-out game with 13 kills. She was followed by Ford and senior Sophie Kellerman who had eight kills. Sophomore Kayla Ostrom led the team with 32 assists. Belmont is a non-conference opponent, but as far as conference opponents go, the Lady Bisons are undefeated. Prior to the Belmont matchup, they defeated Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson on the road. Lipscomb is now the no. 1 team in conference. The Lady Bisons play Northern Kentucky this weekend, and Ford talked about the importance of winning a midweek match before a conference game. “To have an out of conference game in the middle of season is kind of like a boost,” Ford said. “Every time we’re on...
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 Chad Johnson | Sep 9, 2014 | News Slider, Sports
The Lady Bisons volleyball team struggled to keep pace with the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in their home opener, resulting in a three-set loss. After a slow start, the Purple and Gold showed some promise in the last two sets, but ultimately it was not enough to overcome. The loss ended the Lady Bisons six-game winning streak. Head coach Brandon Rosenthal was disappointed with his team’s lack of focus and passion. “I didn’t think we came with that same drive and passion,” Rosenthal said. “I felt like tonight we were trying to manufacture it (energy), instead of it coming from the heart.” While Rosenthal was not happy with the playing of his team, he did recognize the strong play from the Hilltoppers. “More than anything, it’s a matter of playing our brand of volleyball, we didn’t do that tonight,” Rosenthal added. “A lot of that had to do with what Western Kentucky did.” Western Kentucky blitzed Lipscomb in the first set, 25 to 11, then went on to take the final two sets, 25 to 20. “Western Kentucky is a good team,” Rosenthal said. “They played some disciplined volleyball and unfortunately we paid for it.” Already without middle blocker Jewell Dobson, LUV was also without libero Bri McCombs. McCombs was a game-time decision. “Any time you are filling in for multiple players it makes it tough,” Rosenthal said. “But by the same token it gives other players opportunities.” The Lady Bisons return to Allen Arena this weekend to host the Lipscomb Invitational. They open with Georgia Tech on Friday night at 6:30 p.m., then take on in-state foe ETSU on Saturday afternoon at 12:30. The Lady Bisons wrap up with Utah at 6:30 p.m. Photo credit to Erin...
