LINCOLN, Neb. - The Lipscomb women's volleyball team fell to 0-3 after dropping their third and final match in the Ameritas Players Classic Sunday to Utah State. 

Lipscomb could not generate a consistent attack in three of the four sets, finishing with a .085 overall hitting percentage with 25 kills. Courtney Jones got the start and led the way for the Bisons for the second straight outing, totaling eight kills, followed by Meg Mersman with seven on a .538 hitting percentage. Both setters, Sarah Nading and Sophia Hudepohl, saw action against the Aggies, combining for 26 assists. Hudepohl and Delaney Smith finished with a combined 23 digs in the loss.

Delaney Smith earned a spot on the Ameritas Players Challenge All-Tournament team, finishing with 40 digs, seven assists, and four service aces in the three matches played. 

Set 1:

The Aggies jump off to an early 3-0 lead, but the Bisons quickly even the score due to attack errors by Utah State and a kill by Berkley Mischler. Utah State tallied three straight points, including two kills, which put them up 12-8 to force a Lipscomb timeout. After the break, the Aggies began to run away with the set, scoring the following four points, increasing their lead to 16-8. Caroline Stogner stopped the bleeding with a kill, followed by an attack error by the Aggies, but Utah State's lead was too much to overcome in set one, as they took it 25-16.

Set 2: 

LUV took an early advantage and set two, with big swings from Courtney Jones, Addi Pelham, and Caroline Stogner. The Bisons held a 7-5 lead until the Aggies recorded two straight to tie set two on an attack error and service ace. Set two continued to be a back-and-forth affair. Each time the Bisons garnered momentum and took a two-point lead, the Aggies would respond to even the point total. Two straight kills from Meg Mersman help Lipscomb stretch its lead to three (15-12), forcing a Utah State timeout. After the timeout, LUV extended their lead even further, starting with a kill from Courtney Jones, an attack error, followed by another kill from Jones. The run proved to be what the Bisons needed as they went on to close out set two with a 25-19 win. After having just eight kills in set one, Lipscomb responded with 17 in set two, which helped them secure the victory. 

Set 3:

Utah State raced off to an early lead in set three due to some attack errors by the Bisons. The Aggies took advantage of those mistakes and paired them with kills of their own to stretch their lead. Utah State forced a timeout by the Bisons after two kills gave them a ten-point lead in the set. Lipscomb cut their deficit to as little as five (24-19), but Utah State game out of set three with a 2-1 lead. The Bisons had its lowest kill count of the day, with just four in set 3. 

Set 4:

After fighting back to get within a point (5-4), the Aggies went on a 4-1 scoring run, forcing a timeout by Lipscomb. A five-point swing gave Utah State a 14-7 lead in the middle of the set. Three attack errors by the Aggies cut their lead down to five, which forced them into a timeout. Out of the timeout, a kill by Jada DiVita and two service aces brought the Bisons within two scores. Another kill from Jones and an attack error got the Bisons within a point (17-16). They cut Utah State's lead to one again (22-21) on a kill by Mersman, but the Aggies came out on top 25-22 to win the match. 

BRANDON ROSENTHAL POSTGAME:

"Absolutely love the fight from our girls. The fight this weekend continued to build. Going into the first weekend, you hoped to see that from the forefront but didn't get that against SMU. That was a big point of emphasis in the Nebraska and Utah State matches. We did a good job against Nebraska, but I wanted to see more fight, and we got it tonight. That's what's going to happen against good teams. You're going to have to battle. We are starting sets incredibly slowly, so we must address that this week. We have to do a better job on the front end of things coming out of changeovers or even timeouts, executing some of the information, and having a good mentality. Those things will be priority number one going into the week."

"We threw a different offense at them, which was cool since we have that option. The biggest challenge right now is finding a set lineup. It's a blessing and a curse that we have the option to run multiple lineups, but at the end of the day, we have to be able to run one lineup and go off of that. All in all, one too many errors. It felt like a seesaw battle where we'd score points but then give away points too frequently. We can take care of that in practice and clean up the game. Also, in the fourth set, hesitation plays created some chaos. A team is at its best when there is zero hesitation, and we can figure things out after the match."

"Excellent match by Meg Mersman. Hitting .538, she did an excellent job. She also contributed defensively. Sarah Nading came on and helped us in the 6-2 offense. We've seen it several times in practice, but until you run it in a match, you aren't 100% sure. Addi will get more runs as she becomes healthier, and then the flexibility of running Jada on the right side or outside is a huge bonus, but ultimately, we have to try and find that permanent home for her. There are some decisions we have to make this week. Our passing and serving was good, but it has to get better. It's something that we work on for a tremendous amount of time. Especially when we are competing at the highest level, you have to figure out a way to serve your serve. We have a mental battle where we don't want to miss but also want to do what we practice daily. It's a tricky point, especially when you miss two or three serves and you start second-guessing yourself. Ultimately, we have to find a way, and that's our job as coaches.

"Excited to get a day off on Monday. We have a great week ahead, playing at home in front of our home fans, who have been great against a good opponent in Ole Miss. We lost a tough battle with them in last year's exhibition, and our girls remember that and want to come out on the plus side. I feel the momentum coming. In our pregame speech, I talked to them about Johnny Cash's Fulton County Prison lyrics... I hear the train coming around; I can feel us turning the corner, so it's exciting as a coach, but it needs to get here sooner rather than later. I love what the girls did and am really proud of them. We are playing tough opponents, and sometimes, when you lay it out on the line and come up short, it's tough. That's where the vulnerability piece comes in, we have to think about a long-game mindset."

Up Next:
The Bisons will return to action Thursday against Ole Miss for their first matchup in the LUV Invitational at Allen Arena. Game time is set for 6:00 p.m. CT.