NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Lipscomb volleyball advanced to the semifinal round of the ASUN Volleyball Championship after a 3-0 sweep of the Central Arkansas Sugar Bears with set scores of 27-25, 25-21, and 25-20. The Bisons improved to 16-12 on the season and will take on top-seeded Liberty University with a championship spot on the line.
 
Logan Gish led the way in points and kills for the Bisons with 14.5 points and 13 kills on the night. Delaney Smith and Gish both had nine digs to lead the team. Freshman setter Sophia Hudepohl made history as she recorded her 1,000th assist of the season, as she finished with 41 against UCA.
 
The Bisons continued to produce from the serving line with 12 service aces, five of which came from Smith, as well as two from both Hudepohl and Jade Zaleski.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
SET 1

• Each team felt each other out in the opening moments of action, but a kill by Caroline Stogner and then an ace began a 4-0 run by the Bisons.
• Lipscomb held on to a slight advantage until they stretched it to 20-15 on back-to-back ace by Smith.
• UCA later evened the score at 21-21 with back-to-back kills.
• Both teams jockeyed for a lead to take the first set, but two aces by Jade Zaleski sealed the deal to end the first set with a final mark of 27-25.

SET 2

• Lipscomb would get off to a 3-0 lead to start set two, but UCA rallied to even the score.
• UCA then took a 5-4 lead on an ace, but the Bisons would answer with five straight points with a kill from Addi Pelham and Berkley Mischler and then two service aces by Smith to move the score to 8-5.
• UCA would cut the deficit again to three points after another three-point run by Lipscomb with a kill.
• Kills by Gish and Stogner pushed the Bisons lead up once more to give them set point.
• UCA would earn the next two points, but Gish would record her fourth kill of the set to end the second frame.

SET 3

• The third set was a back-and-forth affair with 12 ties and four lead changes.
• The Bisons started to create an edge with three straight kills by Mischler, Stogner, and Bass to take a 19-16 advantage.
• After UCA cut their deficit to one at the 21-20 mark, Lipscomb rattled off four straight points including two kills from Gish and one from Mischler to win the match in three sets. 

HERD NOTES

• The Bisons were very effective from the serving line, recording 12 service aces against the Sugar Bears, their highest ace count of the season. 
• Lipscomb's offense was at the forefront again today with 44 kills compared to UCA's 37.
• The squad recorded their fifth highest hitting percentage of the season, converting at a .330 percent clip, while also recording one of their lowest amounts of attack errors all season.
• Freshman setter Sophia Hudepohl is now up to 1,037 assists on the season with her performance.
• 21 of the 25 points record in the third and final set were kills for Lipscomb.

 
FROM THE BENCH – HC BRANDON ROSENTHAL
"I thought the team did a nice job. One of the opening pieces was our serve and we really established ourselves early on with it. I have to give credit to UCA for the battle that they have had all year. Their coaching staff does a fantastic job of getting them to play hard.
 
I think that what we saw at the end of set one is indicative of who we are. Jade Zaleski - who has worked so hard and puts in so many hours that nobody gets to see - for her to come in a close out that set with two fantastic serves is encouraging to see. Credit to her and credit this team for fighting.
 
I thought we did a nice job with some of our set ups, but unfortunately some of the balls were hit just outside of our reach or hit where we didn't anticipate it. I loved the fortitude and the stick-to-itiveness of our team. I never felt like we wavered in our confidence.
 
As we moved into set two, I just wanted to see a little bit more from us in regard to moving our feet in serve receive. They were able to get a little bit closer than we wanted at a couple points, but we were able to finish out the set. Between the first two sets we typically like to see more kills, but I thought we did a nice job with our services as well as our blocks.
 
I thought in set three there were again some moments where we built early leads and then we kind of gave up on some points. Eventually it became a battle, and they actually took the lead, and from there it was a point for point race. Then we would create a lead again and they would come storming right back, but we finished out strong.
 
Credit to our girls again. Gish (Logan Gish) had a tremendous match. I thought that Sophia (Sophia Hudepohl) really got into a rhythm.

As we move into tomorrow, we have to get some rest. I think that's going to be a big part of everyone's game - how fresh can everyone be in this next day or two. We are all only guaranteed one more day together and that's something that we keep preaching to our team - the idea that if you earn one more day you have to utilize it. Our girls our excited for the opportunity the have in front of them."
 
UP NEXT:
Lipscomb will take on top-seeded Liberty in the semifinals round of the ASUN Volleyball Championship tomorrow (Friday, Nov. 18) at 7 p.m. CT.