Volleyball rolls Bellarmine for sixth sweep of the season

Saturday, February 27

Nashville, Tenn.

6:00 PM

Lipscomb University

8-2,5-1ASUN

Bellarmine

1-9,0-6ASUN

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Bellarmine	17	26	16	0
Lipscomb	25	28	25	3

Volleyball rolls Bellarmine for sixth sweep of the season

2/27/2021 8:47:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Kirk Downs

NASHVILLE – Lipscomb volleyball finished off an impressive weekend Saturday night with another straight-set victory over Bellarmine by scores of 25-17, 28-26 and 25-16 inside Allen Arena.

The Bisons improved to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in ASUN Conference action and have now recorded 4-straight sweeps at home this season.

Freshman hitter Kamryn Bacus paced the offense with a career high 18 kills on 30 swings for a .467 hitting clip. She also picked up three digs, two aces, one block and a team-high 20.5 points in the win.

Fellow newcomer Meg Mersman joined her in double figures with 11 terminations and a match-high .625 swinging percentage. She also topped the match with three blocks, including Lipscomb's lone solo stuff.

Sami Rubal and Lanie Wagner chipped in seven kills each, while Kuper led the Bisons with a season high 14 digs.

Freshman Brooke Phillips got the start again at setter and finished with 40 assists for the second straight night. She also added three kills and a pair of blocks.

Seniors Ashley Maher and Alyssa Zwolensky combined for 15 digs, splitting time at Libero. They paced a Lipscomb defense that limited the Knights (1-9, 0-6) to just a .123 hitting percentage as a team.

SET ONE
Lipscomb and Bellarmine went back-and-forth through most of the first set with neither side leading by more than three points until the Bisons reeled off a 7-0 run to close the set and give the home team a 25-17 victory. Leading 18-17, Phillips hammered down a left-handed shot before Bacus and Mersman teamed up for five kills in the last six points. The duo combined for 13 of the team's 18 kills in the frame.

S1 | We out here throwing missiles early ?????? @MeganKuper @mersman_meg @kamrynbacus

Bisons 15, Knights 13 #HornsUp ?? pic.twitter.com/twAKRBtZXy
— Lipscomb Volleyball (@LipscombVBall) February 28, 2021

SET TWO
The second frame was tight throughout as the Knights worked themselves to an 11-9 lead over the Bisons at the midway point. Following a timeout from head coach Brandon Rosenthal, the Bisons got back-to-back blocks from Rubal and Phillips to cap a 4-0 run to go back in front. Tied at 26, Bacus served up and ace and Kuper dropped a kill to get the 28-26 win and go up 2-0 in the match.

S2 | @kamrynbacus slams her match-high 11th kill before @mersman_meg DENIES the next swing.

Bisons 18, Knights 16 #HornsUp?? pic.twitter.com/uSIebeTCnV
— Lipscomb Volleyball (@LipscombVBall) February 28, 2021

SET THREE
Six different Bisons picked up kills in the final set, led by five apiece from Bacus and Mersman. Middle Rubal put Lipscomb up 4-0 out of the gate with a kill, before the Knights fought to regain the advantage at 13-12. Mersman recorded four of the next five points on swings and Bacus dropped in an ace to give the home squad a 20-15 lead. Kills from Kuper, Bacus and Wagner sparked a 5-0 match-ending run where Maher followed with an ace to get the win and earn the Bisons their sixth sweep of the season.

That's ?? wins in 24 hours for @LipscombVBall. The Bisons earn another sweep over Bellarmine in Nashville ????#ASUNVB #HornsUp pic.twitter.com/cFILsCzy3Q
— #ASUNVB ?? (@ASUNVolleyball) February 28, 2021

HERD NOTES

Kuper now has 10+ digs in four straight matches, and in four of the last five.
Mersman recorded her 7^th match of three or more blocks – the most on the squad this season.
Lipscomb recorded 52 team kills to Bellarmine's 30.
The Bisons totaled 5.0 blocks, while the Knights were credited with 3.0.
The ASUN's leader in aces put down four in the win for the second night in a row, with Bacus' two leading the way.
Lipscomb scooped up 48 digs to Bellarmine's 31.

FROM THE BENCH

Hear what @mersman_meg and @RosenthalLUV had to say on the team's 4th-straight sweep in Allen Arena. #HornsUp ??https://t.co/Y8gmClMDOX
— Lipscomb Volleyball (@LipscombVBall) February 28, 2021

UP NEXT
Lipscomb will play another home-and-home with North Alabama this next week, traveling to Florence on March 2 before returning to Allen Arena on Wednesday, March 3 for a 6 p.m. first serve. Both matches will be on ESPN+.