SPARTANBURG, S.C. – John Candy and Steve Martin aren’t going to be on the trip but this weekend’s journeys by the Lipscomb volleyball team could well be titled “Planes, Trains and Buses” instead of “Planes, Trains and Automobiles”.
The Bisons (14-7, 6-2 in the ASUN Conference) are taking the bus to Spartanburg, South Carolina to face USC Upstate (11-14, 3-5) at 5 p.m. Friday. Saturday they fly to New York’s LaGuardia Airport and take the subway to Newark, New Jersey for a noon match with NJIT (9-17, 1-7) Sunday before flying home.
The USC Upstate match will be available on ESPN3.
Lipscomb coach Brandon Rosenthal’s team is coming off a 3-0 sweep of Kennesaw State on the road last week. It was the first loss in the conference for the Owls this season.
Lipscomb has won its last four matches. Rosenthal doesn’t anticipate any letdowns by his players. He knows USC Upstate and NJIT will be playing at the top of their levels.
“These are two teams that are fighting for a chance to get into the conference tournament,” Rosenthal said. “With that comes a new spirit on the other side that has to be taken seriously. When teams are fighting for the chance to extend their seasons some amazing things can happen.
“We have talked about the responsibility we have on our side of the net. We have done a good job as a coaching staff looking at what drives this team and we have adapted to some of those things.”
Rosenthal and his staff have discovered that piling on pages of information on the Bisons is not the way to get them to play at the highest level.
“It is about their confidence and the ease they play with,” Rosenthal said. “The pressure of doing this or this is not where this team is. They have a carefree kind of mentality.
“From the outside you can talk all you want about a match. But as you look at our season we have played some great competition and we seem to play our best when we are at ease with our ability and knowing we can compete with anybody.”
The emphasis for the team is every point matters. Rosenthal admits it is difficult as a coach to step back and sometimes just let his team play.
“We recognized we have to be a little bit different to be better,” Rosenthal said. “It is what is best for the team, not is what is best for me.
“It is definitely a two-way street. We are not coaching from desperation. We are coaching with a little more confidence and allowing them to play.”
The series: Lipscomb is 15-0 against USC Upstate and 3-0 against NJIT.
Scouting USC Upstate: The Spartans lead the ASUN overall in digs with 1,676, 16.59 per set.
Emily Koelling leads Upstate with a .273 hitting percentage, sixth best overall in the conference. Kaleigh Kelley is fourth in digs overall with 4.24 per set. Her 428 total digs are second overall. Montana Swanson is 10th overall in digs with 2.82 per set.
Madison Haake is fourth in assists per set with 8.35 and second in total assists overall with 843.
In ASUN matches only Brianna Tellschow is eighth with a .290 hitting percentage. Haake is fifth in assists per set with 8.73. Kelley is fifth in digs per set with 4.33.
Scouting NJIT: The Highlanders only ASUN win was a 3-1 decision against Upstate. They are scheduled to play Kennesaw State Friday night in Newark.
Katarzyna Klocek is eighth overall in kills with 2.80 per set. She is seventh in kills per set in ASUN matches only with 2.89.
Adriana Nieto is second in service aces with .40 per set and eighth in ASUN matches only with .36 per set. Nieto is also third overall in digs with 4.59 per set. She leads in digs in ASUN matches only with 5.09 per set.
Anna Rodrigues is sixth in assists with 7.16 per set overall.
In ASUN matches only Mikalah Hughes is ninth with a .289 hitting percentage. Rodrigues is sixth in assists with 8.25 per set. Liz Benson is 10th with 5.45.
The rankings: Lipscomb is ranked 21st this week in the Vollyeballmag.com Mid-Major Poll.
Lipscomb is 74th in this week’s RPI. Florida Gulf Coast is 63rd. They are the only two ASUN teams in the top 100.
Barriers broken: Setter Kayla Ostrom has 3.083 career assists, 14th all-time in the ASUN.
Libero Brittany Thomas has 1,007 career digs.
NCAA stats: As a team Lipscomb is third in assists per set with 13.69 and fifth in kills per set with 14.62.
The Bisons are 13th in aces per set with 1.76. They are 22nd in team service aces with 137 total.
Right side Taylor Racich is 21st in aces per set with .45 and 23rd in total service aces with 35.
Outside hitter Carlyle Nusbaum is 22nd in kills per set with 4.33. She is 26th in points per set with 4.80. She is 38th in total kills with 338.
ASUN stats: As a team overall Lipscomb leads in assists per set, kills per set and service aces per set with 1.76.
In conference matches only Lipscomb is first in assists with 382 total and assists per set with 13.64. The Bisons are also first in total kills with 405 and in kills per set with 14.54.
Overall three Lipscomb players are in the top 10 in hitting percentage. Middle blocker Maddie Phillips is second (.332), Racich is fifth (.282) and Nusbaum is 10th (.258).
Nusbaum is first overall in total kills and second in kills per set.
Racich is first in service aces per set and tied for first in total service aces.
Thomas is third in service aces with .35 per set and Phillips is eighth at .30 per set.
Thomas is tied for sixth in digs per set with 4.04.
Ostrom, who shares playing time with Morgan Elmore, is seventh in assists per set with 6.90.
In ASUN matches only Phillips is first with a .400 hitting percentage. Racich is fifth at .315.
Nusbaum is second in total kills with 113 and second in kills per set with 4.04.
Racich and Thomas are tied for third in service aces per set with .39.
Thomas is sixth with 4.00 digs per set.
Ostrom is seventh in assists per set with 6.82.
Next up: The road trip continues to Lipscomb. They travel to the “Sunshine” state Nov. 4 to play FGCU in Fort Myers and make a stop Nov. 5 at Stetson in DeLand
