Saturday, August 29, 2009
by Katie Haab

The Lipscomb Volleyball Team started off their season strong this morning with a 3-0 win against Western Kentucky in the Lady Vol Classic Tournament at the University of Tennessee.

With set scores of 25-23, 25-17, and 27-25, the Lady Bisons quickly showed a glimpse of the season to come.

“We have been preaching about doing things right and working hard,” said coach Brandon Rosenthal, “To come out there against a quality team is reassuring. If the girls had an questions before, they are all gone now.”

In set 1, the Lady Bisons jumped on the board first with 3 points. After letting the toppers come back to lead 6-5, the Bisons took control of the game and eventually closed out the first game with kills by senior Erin Pierce and newcomer Kaycee Green.

Set 2 saw Lipscomb on the board first once again. After a close game though 9 points, the Bisons went on a scoring rampage, first scoring 4 to take the lead, then outscoring their opponents 13-9 to secure the set.

The final set went back and forth and for a moment looked to be in Western Kentucky’s favor as they led 10-5. But The Lady Bisons fought back hard to tie things up at 17. Lipscomb would eventually go on to win their first match of the season with a final set score of 27-25.

The Lady Bisons were led by Pierce with 10 kills and a .529 hitting percentage and junior Alex Kelly, the Atlantic Sun Preseason Player of the year, with 15 kills and a .433 hitting percentage.

“Alex and Erin played phenomenal, both offensively and defensively,” said Rosenthal. “Even when we were down, it was those girls who got us a couple points. We have always said that that if we are going to win, Erin has to be involved. She did a great job sticking with it.”

“The group as a whole did great,” said Rosenthal. “It takes all 13 players and this was a great example.”

The Lady Bisons next take on Tennessee Tech today at 4pm CT in the Atlanic Sun Game of the Week.

This story was written by Katie Haab, a student member of the athletics communications staff.