NASHVILLE - Lipscomb Volleyball hosted North Alabama (16-11, 8-7 ASUN) in their regular season finale Friday night. The Bisons took care of business, sweeping North Alabama on senior night inside Allen Arena with set scores of 31-29, 25-20, 25-19.
Meg Mersman led the way for the Bisons with another masterful performance, ending with 17 kills on 29 attempts with a .552 hitting percentage. Courtney Jones and Jada DiVita rounded out the kill leaders, finishing with 12 and 11 kills. Mersman has been on a tear as of late, hitting .422 with 3.48 kills per set and 73 total in her last five outings.
As a team offensively, the Bisons hit .351 in their third straight match, hitting over .300. They were guided by sophomore setter Sophia Hudepohl, who had 43 assists as the Bisons ended with 55 kills compared to 40 for the Lions.
Lipscomb's defense was exceptional all night, ending with 39 digs, led by Hudepohl would dug 12 bals en route to a double-double, her fourth in the last five matches. Senior Connelly Renfrow added seven digs, followed by Delaney Smith, Jade Zaleski, and Courtney Jones with five a piece.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
The first set was as tightly contested as it gets in college volleyball, with several jaw-dropping plays on both ends. The Bisons were able to put together short scoring runs, but UNA managed to hang around each time the Bisons put together a few points in a row. There were a lot of long rallies and extraordinary efforts from the back lines of both clubs in the first set.
Bisons swung well, like they have consistently the past few matches, hitting .259 on their way to 23 kills in the frame. The majority of their points were in a system as they ended the frame with 23 assists, led by Hudepohl with 20 herself.
UNA evened the set at 23-all and took a one-point lead for a 24-23 match point advantage. The Bisons managed to survive four UNA match points and eventually closed the set out on a kill by Mersman and a service ace from Addi Pelham for a 31-29 opening set score.
Set two was another hard-fought set that was close until the Bisons executed late and pulled away at the end. LUV had 16 kills and hit a match-best .500 hitting percentage with just two attack errors.
Mersman and DiVita each made their presence felt in the set, recording six kills each on 17 combined attempts. The Bisons also added three points from the service line with three aces.
UNA responded well to open the third set and scored the first five points. Fortunately, the Bisons worked back into the set, scoring five of the following six points. A solo block from Berkley Mischler and an ace from Mersman gave the Bisons back the lead 6-5. Lipscomb then began to build a slight lead, but the Lions stuck around. UNA cut their deficit to two (15-13), but a three-point swing gave the Bisons some cushion, forcing a Lion's timeout to talk things over.
North Alabama's set three comeback attempt was cut short as the Bisons took the final set of the night 25-19 to win their fourth straight match heading into ASUN postseason play.
With the win, the Bisons ended the regular season with a 19-7 overall record and a 14-2 mark in ASUN action. Their 14th win tonight gives Coach Rosenthal and company the most regular season wins since the 2016-17 season and the most conference wins since the 2013-14 season. The Bisons are now one win away from 20 for the season, something the program hasn't accomplished in seven seasons. LUV also ends the regular season with a 13-1 record inside Allen Arena.
BRANDON ROSENTHAL & MEG MERSMAN POSTGAME:
Up Next:
Lipscomb awaits its opponent for the quarterfinal matchup of the ASUN Championships as the two seed, which will be played on Thursday, Nov. 16, at noon CT in Fort Myers, Florida. For more coverage of Lipscomb Volleyball, follow LUV on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram @lipscombvball.
