RICHMOND, Ky. - A battle within a battle between the top three teams in the ASUN. Overcoming a big-time deficit in the fifth set, the Lipscomb University volleyball team defeated Eastern Kentucky University to start conference play Friday night from the Olympic Sports Training Center. 

Final Score: Lipscomb 3, Eastern Kentucky 2 (25-19, 24-26, 19-25, 25-19, 18-16)
Location: Richmond, Kentucky (Olympic Sports Training Center)
Records: Lipscomb (4-8, 1-0), Eastern Kentucky (10-5, 1-1)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bisons stormed out to a 25-19 set victory after recording 15 kills and a .423 swing percentage, led by Courtney Jones, who had the final spike of the set to finish with five. 

In set number two, Eastern Kentucky took advantage of six service errors by Lipscomb, including one that saw the Colonels win the final two points to even the match at a set apiece, 26-24. 

LUV got out to a 5-1 lead early in the third, but EKU used a 9-5 run to take a 10-9 lead thanks to three straight Bison attack errors. 

Tied at 13, the teams went back-and-forth, but a 19-15 Colonel lead at a timeout swelled to a 25-19 victory to go ahead 2-1 in the match. 

In the fourth, the duo of Jones and Karlie McNabb forced a fifth set. Each player had six kills in the set as the Bisons had 20 on 42 attempts, committing just one error. The Colonels had a similar set on their offensive attack, 15 kills and three errors on 37 swings, but it was not enough as the Bisons won 25-19 to force the final frame. 

Going to the final set, it was all Colonels, as they got out to a 6-3 and 11-5 leads. However, the Bisons did not quit, as they forced lingering death thanks to five kills by McNabb. 

After Jones tied the contest at 16 on a kill, following an attack error by EKU, Jones sealed the match with a service ace. 

The match saw 24 ties and nine lead changes. 11 ties and five lead changes came in the second set alone. 

QUOTABLE

KEY STATISTICS
For the match, Lipscomb spiked 79 kills and had a .346 attack percentage (79-23-162).

New career highs were posted all over the place on Friday night. Courtney Jones posted her fourth career 20-kill performance with a match-high 28. She also added her third career double-double and the first of the season with 10 digs. 

Karlie McNabb also had a banner day, surpassing her career high in kills with 27. More impressive, she took 45 swings and committed just three errors for a .545 percentage. The graduate student also added eight assists. 

Sophia Hudepohl surpasses the 60-assist plateau for the first time this season and the fourth of her career with a season-high 60 on Friday. Adding 13 digs, she posted her 23rd career double-double. 

Libby Steinhart also had a double-double with 17 digs and 10 assists, while Meg Mersman added seven kills and six total blocks. 

HERD NOTES
The Bisons posted 79 kills in the five-set victory, marking the second most in program history since 2010. Additionally, the 76 assists were tied for the most since 2010. Both records came during the 2015 season.

Meg Mersman adds another milestone to her career as she became the all-time Division I leader in total blocks in Lipscomb program history. After her six on Friday, she now has 382, surpassing the record set by Alex Kelly (2008-11). 

After already locking up the block assists record earlier in the season, she now sits 11 away from Kelly's block solo record of 91. 

It was record-setting nights for both Courtney Jones and Karlie McNabb. Jones's 28 kills marked the fifth-most in a five-set match since 2010, while McNabb's 27 is tied for sixth. 

UP NEXT
It will be a quick turnaround for the Bisons on Saturday afternoon, as they head to Louisville, Kentucky for a match with Bellarmine.