Friday, November 25, 2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On the heels of winning the Atlantic Sun Tournament Championship for the third consecutive year, the Lipscomb volleyball team is set to take on Xavier in Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday, in a final non-conference tuneup before the NCAA Tournament.

After rolling through the A-Sun Tournament last weekend sweeping Florida Gulf Coast 25-18, 25-13, 25-22 and rival Belmont 25-16, 25-16, 25-14 to win the crown, the Lady Bisons will wrap up the 2011 regular season just like they began against the Musketeers.  The two schools met to open the 2011 slate in the “Flo Hyman Collegiate Cup” hosted by the University of Houston.

“We realized a couple of years ago that there was a little too much time between the Atlantic Sun tournament and the NCAA tournament,” said Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal. “So we thought about playing a match somewhere in that period and we talked to Xavier and setup a two-year agreement.

“We’re excited to have this opportunity. Two weeks at this point and time is way too much time for us to be off playing the game.  Going into the NCAA tournament you want to be as fresh as possible but also continue that regimen that you’ve been doing for the past four months.

The Lady Bisons got strong play in the A-Sun tournament from senior middle blocker Katie Rose, who earned tournament MVP honors, along with senior setter Abby Fay and Lauren Ford, who both earned all-tournament honors for their play.  Their efforts combined with the rest of the team sends Lipscomb to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time in five seasons.

The opponent:  After losing 3-1 (25-22, 25-16, 23-25, 25-21) to Dayton in the finals of the Atlantic-10 tournament, Xavier (20-11) will take the court for the final time this season on Saturday. Sarah Brown leads things offensively for Xavier averaging 3.42 kills per set.  A three-time A-10 Libero of the Year, Stephanie Vorherr is the Musketeers defensive ace with a 4.28 dig-per-set average.

“Xavier was our very first match at the beginning of the year and we’re quite a bit different team than we were back then,” said Rosenthal. “At that point, due to an injury by Lauren Ford, Abby Fay had to play the outside position, so we’re hoping that what we’ve been through throughout the year will put us in a really good spot. They’re a great team and it should be a great matchup.”

Up next: Lipscomb awaits their destination for the NCAA Tournament having previously made three trips to the state of Ohio in the Lady Bisons three previous ventures to the NCAA postseason.  Lipscomb will learn its destination on Sunday during the NCAA Selection Show on ESPN News at 5 p.m.  The Lady Bisons are hosting a “Selection Show” party in the Shamblin Theater at the Bennett Campus Center beginning at 4:30 p.m.  The event features free McDougal’s chicken and is open to all students, alumni, staff, faculty, family and friends of Lipscomb volleyball.