Volleyball set to play Georgia Tech in the 2021 NCAA Tournament

Volleyball set to play Georgia Tech in the 2021 NCAA Tournament

After winning a five-set thriller against FGCU in the ASUN tournament final on Saturday night, the Lady Bisons clinched a spot in the NCAA tournament. Sunday afternoon, ESPNU hosted the selection show that announced Lipscomb would travel to play No. 23 Georgia Tech on April 14th in the first round of the tournament. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lipscomb Volleyball (@lipscombvball)   In three previous matchups, Lipscomb is 0-2 against the Yellow Jackets. This will be their first meeting since 2019. This is the Lady Bisons’ eighth tournament appearance and first since 2016. Due to the pandemic, not only the timing of the tournament, but also the format of the tournament is different. Instead of the usual 64 teams, only 48 teams will be going to the big dance and the entirety of the tournament will be played in Omaha, Nebraska. This first-round game will be played at 6 PM CT on April 14th. Graphic courtesy of Lipscomb...

Lady Bisons finish 0-2 at Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament

The Christmas break gave the Lady Bison basketball team a chance to get some rest, but the team still came up short in the Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament. The Lady Bisons travelled down to Atlanta where they first played the host, Georgia Tech on Dec. 29. After the first half of the game, the Lady Bisons were only down by 11 points; however, in the second half Georgia Tech scored 32 points to come away with the 71-53 win. Ashley Southern had her 26th career double-double and fourth of the year. The Lady Bisons were perfect from the free throw line, but only shot one free throw the entire game. Georgia Tech was 42.9 percent from the field while Lipscomb was just 36.2 percent. Just a day after the loss to Georgia Tech, the Lady Bisons had to refocus and prepare to play Harvard on Dec. 30. The game against Harvard was different than the game against the Yellow Jackets. The Lady Bisons did not come out as strong in the first half. The team allowed Harvard to get ahead 41-22 in the first half before finally losing 84-63. The Lady Bisons were neck-in-neck with Harvard in terms of scoring in the second half. Lipscomb scored 41 points to Harvard’s 43. Despite the loss, the Lady Bisons had four players score in double figures. Chandler Cooper and Ashley Southern each had 14 points, Sara Bliss had 11 points and Danay Fothergill had 10. By the end of the game the Lady Bisons were shooting 42.1 percent from the field to Harvard’s 45.2 percent. The Lady Bisons come home to...

Lady Bisons defeat Golden Eagles for second straight win

The Lady Bisons improve to 4-6 on the season with their 72-53 win over Tennessee Tech. Ashley Southern led the team with 19 points and 11 rebounds marking her 25th career double double. Chandler Cooper had 12 points and senior Sara Bliss did as well, while Danay Fothergill finished with 10 points. Cooper was also 4-9 from the three point line. The Lady Bisons shot just over 40% from the field and 78.3% from the free throw line. The Golden Eagles trailed the entire game. Lipscomb led 26-21 at the half before scoring 46 points in the second half to secure the win. Saturday the Lady Bisons take on Xavier as they travel up to Cincinnati. After the matchup on Saturday, the team will have a break for Christmas before traveling down to Atlanta for the Georgia Tech Holiday Tournament that begins Dec. 29. Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...

Lady Bisons use Lipscomb Invitational as preparation for A-Sun slate

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...

Lady Bisons lose home opener

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...