FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Lipscomb University volleyball team picked up a straight-set win over the University of Central Arkansas in the semifinals of the 2024 Atlantic Sun Championship on Friday inside Alico Arena from the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University.
Final Score: Lipscomb 3, Central Arkansas 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-20)
Location: Fort Myers, Florida (Alico Arena)
Records: Lipscomb (19-10), Central Arkansas (17-12)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tied at nine early in the opening set, a
Courtney Jones kill and a UCA attack error gave the Bisons the 12-9 lead. Later, after a block by
Addi Pelham and
Berkley Mischler to make it 14-11, Mischler stopped another attack on the next rally that swung the momentum back to LUV.
The Bisons, despite a comeback attempt by the Sugar Bears, finished off the set with the team's fifth block of the set, stopped by
Meg Mersman and
Sophia Hudepohl.
Central Arkansas answered quickly in the second set with a 9-4 start before Lipscomb burned a timeout.
Trailing 13-8, the Bisons picked up a side out with a kill by Mersman, and that sparked a rally by the 2-seed. An 8-2 run gave LUV the 16-15 lead to force UCA to burn a timeout.
After a Lipscomb service error, the Bisons were able to get the ball right back on a
Courtney Jones kill that sparked a 5-3 run, capped by a
Libby Steinhart ace. Despite a Central Arkansas timeout to try to stall the Bisons run, LUV used a 4-1 run to finish the set with a 25-20 win.
After four ties and three lead changes in the second frame, the same intensity returned in the third with four ties and two lead changes. One of those happenings came late in the frame trailing 18-17. Following a Lipscomb timeout, they won the next three points on back-to-back spikes by
Courtney Jones and
Addi Pelham to lead 20-18.
Coming out of the timeout, Hudepohl won the next three points to lead 22-19 en route to a 25-20 victory to advance to the championship match.
QUOTABLES
Hear from
Meg Mersman post match on Friday.
Hear more from Coach Rosenthal.
KEY STATISTICS
Courtney Jones posted her fifth straight performance with double digits in the kill column with 14 and added five digs and a solo block.
Meg Mersman recorded 13 total points with nine kills and five total blocks.
Libby Steinhart dug out a match-high 20 attacks, marking the third time this season the senior has accomplished the feat.
Sophia Hudepohl totaled 34 assists and two service aces.
HERD NOTES
LUV returns to the championship match for the 12th time, including back-to-back seasons.
With the semifinal win, the Bisons won their 30th ASUN Championship match, surpassing Stetson for the most wins among active ASUN members in the tournament.
UP NEXT
Heading back to the championship match, the Bisons will take on the winner of Florida Gulf Coast and Eastern Kentucky on Saturday evening. First serve is set for 7 p.m. ET from Alico Arena.
