Saturday, September 10, 2011

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Having lost seven straight sets entering Saturday afternoon’s contest in the “Golden Dome Invitational,” the Lipscomb volleyball team overcame dropping the first set against Valparaiso to rally for a 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 25-21, 25-23) win and snap the skid at the Purcell Pavilion in South Bend, Ind.

“Overall we just played smart and we didn’t shoot ourselves in the foot,” said Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal. “The girls did a nice job of executing the game plan.  Sets two, three and four, we played great defense and it was nice to see something that I’ve become accustomed to seeing from our girls.  This was that match where you see it all put in place.”

Paced by 18 kills by both Junior Kaycee Green and freshman Lauren Ford Lipscomb improves to 3-6 on the season with the win.  Lipscomb’s serving was also a key point of the match according to Rosenthal as Ford notched three service aces on the night to go along with her career-high in kills.  The newcomer also added 10 digs for her first double-double for Lipscomb.
 
“We talked with Kaycee about really getting going after she only had two kills in the first set and we made a few minor adjustments and it worked,” said Rosenthal. 

The Lady Bisons outhit the Crusaders .262 to .214 en route to handing Valparaiso (7-3) only their third loss of the season.  Lipscomb also got solid production from senior Katie Rose, the reigning Atlantic Sun Player of the Week, who finished with 10 kills and 10 digs for her second double-double of the season.  Saturday’s contest is the first-ever meeting between Lipscomb and Valparaiso.

Lipscomb concludes action in the “Golden Dome Invitational” on Sunday morning with a 10 a.m. contest against Portland