Five conference opponents will make their way to Nashville with hopes to start their
conference schedules with wins.
A weekend full of ASUN matchups will mark the beginning of conference competition at Allen Arena on Friday at 12 pm. Lipscomb is hosting one of the six-team ASUN Crossover events this
weekend, while the other will be at Jacksonville State.
Bellarmine, Eastern Kentucky, FGCU, Jacksonville and Liberty will all participate in the event at Lipscomb, and each school will play once per day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for a 3-game event. Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal’s team will open the weekend with an ASUN finals rematch against the FGCU Eagles on Friday at 6 pm.
“When the conference makes that your first matchup you just kind of smile and chuckle.”
Rosenthal said. “I think it ups the ante a little bit. There’s no doubt that FGCU will come in ready
and we’re quite a bit different team than what we were last year.”
The makeup of this year’s team is indeed different from last year. While many teams in the ASUN
retained graduating seniors for another year due to the pandemic, the Bisons did not. As a
result, the team carries a mix of seniors and underclassmen with not much playing
experience.
Sophomore outside hitter Kamryn Bacus is one of the younger players that excelled last season.
She views the weekend as an opportunity for the team to reap the benefits following
non-conference play against some of the nation’s top programs.
“The level of play has been so high, and we’ve been held to a high standard.” Bacus said. “I feel
like we’ve learned a lot from it and we’re going into this weekend with confidence that we can
compete with anybody.”
The weekend will continue for the Bisons on Saturday at 6 pm against the Jacksonville Dolphins. Coach Rosenthal commented that the Dolphins are growing in a new identity with many new players
and a second-year head coach, Maggie Couture.
The crossover event will conclude with the Bisons’ matchup against the Liberty Flames on Sunday at 6 pm.
Considering the number of teams that will be present throughout weekend, it is fair to
anticipate a level of excitement and buzz in and around Allen Arena. Bacus and the team expect
a great environment during the ASUN Crossover.
“Man, we’re fired up!” she said. “We have a lot of excitement and fire to show up and show out
for our home crowd. It’s a ‘Lippy’ weekend so the athletes will be here in their white Lippy
shirts. I have a feeling that the atmosphere in the arena will be blazing!”
ESPN+ will have coverage of all three games the Bisons play this weekend. Friday’s game is also available via live radio broadcast on The Bison, Lipscomb’s student radio station.