During the NCAA Selection Show on ESPNU on Sunday night, Lipscomb volleyball coach Brandon Rosenthal’s wish came true.
Rosenthal wanted his team to travel far from Middle Tennessee for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. In the crowded Hall of Fame room, the Bisons found out they will face No. 14-seeded UCLA Friday in the first round.
“I said if you are going to send us somewhere let us travel far away,” Rosenthal said. “You can’t get much farther away than Los Angeles. This is an opportunity for Lipscomb to put its name on the map a little more.”
UCLA is the first Pac-12 team that Lipscomb will face in the NCAA tournament.
With this also being the first time Lipscomb has played in California in the tournament, Rosenthal said he believes early road trips to Utah will prepare them for the long distance travel.
“It will be a different situation, but it will not be difficult because of our fans and the people that will take care of us in California,” Rosenthal said. “The knowledge of our fans and the variety of ages in the crowd has helped. Our success has grown the population of this sport, and I could not be more proud of our team.”
Rosenthal said there will be goals they would like to accomplish but feels like having a relaxed team style will help on the long trip.
“We want to stay focused, but we will try to have a little fun,” he said. “When we went to Texas A&M we visited an alpaca farm. I am not sure if there will be any alpaca farms in Los Angeles, but there will be plenty of stuff to do in the few days we have there. It will be a great opportunity for us to see many different things.”
Lipscomb will play at Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA at 10 p.m. CT Friday night.
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb Athletics