LINCOLN, Neb. - The Lipscomb women's volleyball team fell to SMU in their season opener on Friday afternoon, 25-17, 25-16, 25-21, in their first match of the Ameritas Players Challenge and their first-ever meeting with the Mustangs out of the AAC.
The Bisons kept pace with the Mustangs early in the first two sets, but late runs for SMU gave them the nod in both those frames. Despite being down 8-0 to open the third and final frame, Lipscomb fought back to take a late lead over the Mustangs, but the Bisons were not able to hold on to their advantage and fell in three sets to SMU.
LUV ended with a .085 hitting percentage, while the Mustangs swung at a .204 percent clip. Attack and service errors plagued the Bisons, finishing with 22 attack errors and 15 service errors. Sophomore Outside Hitter Jada DiVita led the Bisons with eight kills, ending with a .316 hitting percentage on the day. Preseason ASUN Setter of the Year Sophia Hudepohl tallied 26 assists, while Delaney Smith recorded 15 digs in their first outing of the regular season.
Set 1:
The Bisons kept pace with the Mustangs early after SMU opened the set with two kills. Jada DiVita brought LUV within a point with a kill for a 6-5 score, but SMU recorded three straight as they began to stretch their lead. The Bisons would get as close as two points (15-13) with another kill from Jada DiVita; however, the Mustangs controlled the backend of the set for a 25-17 score to end it.
Set 2:
Similar to set one, Lipscomb battled to keep stride with the SMU. They'd take their first lead of the day on a Mustang attack error for a 4-3 advantage, but SMU had several runs later in the second set to pull away from the Bisons. As a result, Lipscomb dropped the second set 25-16.
Set 3:
SMU came out of intermission on fire and raced to an early 8-0 lead. Lipscomb continued to battle and would work its way back to take a 14-17 lead thanks to a six-point swing with kills from Cora ter Kuile, Meg Mersman, and Courtney Jones. The Bisons couldn't hold on to their lead to further the match as the Mustangs rallied late to win the third set 25-21.
BRANDON ROSENTHAL POSTGAME:
"It was an error-filled match, and we felt we were trying to plug in too many holes. This team has way more fight and ability than we show today. It's on me to get ourselves to a point where we will compete harder and be more organized. Today was incredibly unorganized, which was a complete shock because of how we prepared in the preseason."
"It's only the first match, but despite today's effort, I believe in this team, individual, and coaching staff. We know we have to make minor adjustments regarding personnel, but more importantly, we'll need to find that second gear to work through the different challenges. We accepted things that came our way tonight instead of imposing our will. We needed a goldfish-like mentality, meaning on to the next play, and we did not have that tonight. It's 100% on me and the preparation, but we will continue to work through that. This team is very talented, but we must be better execution-wise."
"Individually, Delaney Smith played a pretty solid match and was pleased with what she did. Connelly Renfrow did an excellent job defensively and at the service line, adding the pressure we're looking for. With the service, it was a bit of a head game regarding what we were trying to execute versus actually doing it. It's definitely a big challenge, but I know this group is up for it. It's still incredibly early in the season, and we have to believe in our abilities and training. Tough challenge ahead of us in Nebraska, but at the same time, it's an awesome opportunity because it's really on our shoulders to show what we are all about and fight with everything we've got. I 100% believe in this group, its staff, and what this program continues to do. It was not our best day, but we will unpack it tonight and put it away to prepare for our next game."
Up Next:
The Bisons will face No. 5 Nebraska at 5:00 p.m. CT on Saturday in its second of three matches in the Ameritas Players Challenge this weekend.
