Tuesday, November 01, 2011

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With just a few weeks remaining in the 2011 season, the Lipscomb volleyball team steps out of Atlantic Sun Conference play tonight for a match against cross-town foe Tennessee State at 6 p.m. at Kean Hall.

Sitting atop the A-Sun standings, the Lady Bisons (16-7, 9-1 A-Sun) look to rebound after a 3-1 loss at Belmont last Tuesday.  Lipscomb leads the conference in hitting percentage (.244), assists (13.6/set), and kills (14.24/set), while ranking third in opponent hitting percentage (.190).

“The time off has been good and bad,” said Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal.  “Coming off a loss, I think our girls are anxious to get back and get playing again.  Giving the girls some time to get away from the game both mentally and physically will be huge for us.  I think the girls are excited to get back on the court and get to work.

“We’ve had a couple of good days of practice leading up to TSU.  It should be exciting to see what we come out with.

Senior middle blocker Katie Rose continues to shine for Lipscomb ranking second in the league with a .334 hitting percentage.  Rose also ranks eighth in kills per set with a 3.17 average.  The veteran is joined in the top ten in the category by junior Kaycee Green and freshman Lauren Ford, who rank fourth and sixth, respectively.

The opponent: Tennessee State – The Tigers head into tonight’s match 14-9 on the season and tied for second in the Ohio Valley Conference standings.  Shaquita Williams leads the way offensively for TSU averaging 3.78 kills per set followed by Terakka Walker’s 3.02 average.  Britani Hathorn  shores things up on the defensive end for the Tigers digging 4.22 balls per frame.

“TSU is always one of those teams that’s a tough team to play and an even tougher team to play over at their place,” said Rosenthal. “We’re expecting a hard-fought battle. With key matches this weekend, It will be interesting to see which team comes in and really stays focused at the task at hand.

“They’ve got some great players in Shaquita Williams, who hits a little bit on the outside and also in the middle and then Terakka Walker, who’s done a great job on the right side this year. They’re going to pose some formidable threats. For us it comes back down to being able to execute.”

Looking ahead:  Lipscomb returns home to Allen Arena on Friday night hosting Kennesaw State at 6:30 p.m. for “Senior Night”. With a win, the Lady Bisons will clinch a first-round bye in the Atlantic Sun tournament held Nov. 17-19 at Allen Arena.