versus 
Hooray! The stars aligned for me to be home and available to watch and cover this match. A ticket to the NCAA tournament is up for grabs as the Lipscomb Lady Bisons and the Jacksonville Dolphins, respectively third- and first-seeded teams in the tournament draw, do battle.
The Lady Bisons got of the gates with back-to-back double blocks, sending back lefty opposite hitter Gabriela Roman (who came off the bench last night, but started today) as well as middle blocke Alyssa Robertson. Then Robertson hit long from the middle to make it 3-0. A net violation at the end of a long rally made it 4-0 Lady Bisons. Finally, Taylor Nyquist got her side on the board with a block-out kill making it 4-1. After a few sideouts, a really nice solo block by Sophie Kellerman on the Lipscomb side made it 7-3. Libero Bri McCombs followed that up wtih a service ace to give Lipscomb their largest lead so far at 8-3. Jacksonville drew back within 9-7 putting up a good block against Jewell Dobson, as the ball went out of bounds but hit Dobson on its way, meaning a point for the Dolphins.
The teams traded points for a while after that, with Lipscomb claiming the next service point to go up 14-10. I had a little connection bobble as that point occurred, so I'm not sure what happened. An ace for the Dolphins (missed server – more connection iffiness) got them back within two again at 15-13. A tough serve from Kayla Ostrom led to an overpass for the Lady Bisons, and they set their offence beautifully. Dobson was not to be denied from the middle, and as the margin hit four again at 17-13, Jacksonville called timeout.
Ostrom continued to serve after the timeout, and snuck an ace in right-back to get Lipscomb back out to a five-point lead. After Jacksonville sided out, they got back to within three when they put up the block against Dobson. The ball actually hit Dobson on the head before it fell to the floor. A double touch against Lipscomb setter Caitlin Dotson made it 18-16, and the Lady Bisons called timeout.
Kellerman got the Lady Bisons their needed sideout on 19-16, powering her way through the double block. It went on sideout after sideout, favouring Lipscomb. Defence specialist Stephanie Rex rotated in to serve on 22-19, and her falcon-esque serve found the back line to put her side up by four, likely an insurmountable lead. The Dolphins called time down 23-19, but the first rally back led to set point Lipscomb as Kylie Jacob hit into the double block. Rex went for the set on her serve at 24-19, and had it land just long. Dotson forced her right-side hitter Emily Laskelle into a tough hit off a trap set (too close to the net), and Laskelle's feeble tip was easily blocked by the Dolphins.
Lipscomb called their last timeout at 24-21. On the next rally, a kind of bizarre play happened. Jacksonville libero Mayara Prestes over-dug, and as the ball sailed over the net, it hit the Lipscomb blocker on its way to the floor. Not how Jacksonville drew it up, but the point counted. Then 24-22 was also a wild rally, ending with another point for Jacksonville. Then Spitznagle missed two in a row up the middle, and it was set point for the Dolphins — their first lead of the set. Kellerman got the Lady Bisons their desperately-needed sideout to keep the set from ending right there. Kellerman got the next kill as well, off Sammie Strausbaugh in the back row and out. Jacksonville then went to Roman on the right side, but she hit straight into Dobson for the final point, a 27-25 Lipscomb win.
In set 2, it was Jacksonville's turn to run off a few to start off. Dobson got the Lady Bisons their first sideout at 3-1. After the Lady Bisons got a point back, the Dolphins again went ahead three at 8-5 following a wide hit from Ford. Spitznagle and Brittnay Estes put up the double block against Nyquist on the 8-6 rally to draw Lipscomb back within a point on 8-7, but just as quickly the Dolphins were back out three again and then four at 11-7. Strausbaugh eagerly gobbled up a Lady Bison overpass on the 10-7 rally, and Lipscomb called timeout there.
We came back from timeout with a service ace for the Dolphins making it 12-7. The next serve was another good one, but the Lady Bisons' star middle blocker Dobson effectively made something from nothing, successfully siding out. On the 13-8 rally, Dotson went to Spitznagle twice in succession, only to have the ball come straight back at her. On their third bite at the apple, Lipscomb went to Estes on the right side, and she found the floor to sideout. Dobson then missed her hit on the right-side slide attack, making it 15-9. That prompted Lipscomb's second and final timeout.
Laskelle kept the ball rolling for Jacksonville, finding the parquet to make it 16-9 Dolphins. The 16-9 rally had to happen twice, as an errant whistle happened on the first one. Kendall Courtney's next serve pinballed off a couple of defenders for an ace. The Lady Bisons got their sideout when Laskelle missed wide from the right side, but they were unable to cut into the lead. Laskelle got the point back on serve to make it 19-11, the Dolphins' biggest lead of the set. Lipscomb got their first service point in a while at 20-13, when Nyquist hit just long. The Dolphins immediately called time there.
The Lady Bisons got another point back on the first rally after the timeout, with Nyquist hitting into Spitznagle's block up the middle. Then she hit about 20 feet long on the next rally, moving Lipscomb within four. She subbed out at that point, in favour of Lauren Homrich. Robertson then tried for a tip shot on 20-16, but had it land out. Her next hit went long, and everyone on the Jacksonville side wanted hands, but they got no call. 20-18 was a pretty long rally, ending with Estes powering through the block to make it 20-19. Jacksonville called their last timeout there.
And the run continued after the timeout, as Courtney got whistled for a double touch on her set at 20-19. Lipscomb got a free ball on the 20-all rally, and went to Ford on the left side. She found hands on the way out, and the Lady Bisons stormed into the lead. Finally, Robertson got the Dolphins their sideout to make it 21-all. A fortunate serve by Nyquist, crawling over the net on a let, led to an overpass kill for Robertson, putting Jacksonville back up a point. It went sideout after sideout to 23-all, meaning whoever got the next point would serve for the set. Strausbaugh's third kill of the match meant that that opportunity went to the Dolphins.
Dobson's right-side slide attack made it to the floor, meaning we were into extras for the second straight set. Kellerman's block-out kill on the left side made it set point for Lipscomb at 25-24, but Jacob's lucky hit off the net made it 25-all. It was a long rally, ending with a cross-court kill for Nyquist to bring about Jacksonville's second set point. Dobson scored again on the right-side slide to stave it off, making it 26-all. Lipscomb were on their heels all throughout the 26-all rally, sending over free ball after free ball. Eventually, the Dolphins terminated to get another set point. Finally, Strausbaugh powered through the front and back rows to end it, sending us to intermission tied at a set apiece.
The Dolphins took the first two on serve to start off the third set. They got the next service point at 4-2, winning an odd point as it looked like a Lipscomb over-dig was going to sail over the net, but it fell back on their side. They successfully returned the ball in 2 hits, but Nyquist terminated from the other side to put Jacksonville ahead by three on 5-2. Kellerman drew a point back to get within 6-5, her ninth kill of the match coming on an odd sort of knuckleball swing. It looked for a moment like the Lady Bisons came even at 6-all — and they celebrated as such — but the officials ruled Robertson's close hit in bounds. On 7-6, Dotson was called for a double hit when it looked like she wasn't sure what she was trying to do until halfway through her action, whether to set one of her hitters or try to dump the ball herself. But the Lady Bisons got the next two after that point, with a nice Dotson/Dobson connection for the kill on the right-side slide attack making it 8-all.
A nice serve from Courtney led to an off-balance hit on the Lipscomb side, putting the Dolphins back ahead by two on 10-8. Just as quickly, a wide hit from the middle on Jacksonville's side drew the Lady Bisons level on 10-all. Strausbaugh's serve on 11-10 led to one of those awkward aces where the other team gets a couple of hits, but can't legally return the ball. I'm sure JU will take it. Jacksonville extended to three for the first time in a while at 13-10 on the next rally, prompting Lipscomb to call timeout.
The Lady Bisons sided out on 13-11, but the Dolphins kept their three-point lead, Jacob getting the block-out kill upt the middle to make it 14-11. On 15-12, Spitznagle missed long, her seventh hitting miscue of the match, making it 16-12. There was no protest, no call of hands on the Lady Bison side. Back-to-back kills from Kellerman and Estes drew Lipscomb back within two on 16-14, and then Robertson missed her hit on the right-side slide attack to make it a one-point set at 16-15. Kellerman's block-out kill — very close to being in, but ruled out — made it 16-all, and Jacksonville called time.
Estes nearly had an ace on her serve at 16-all. Despite getting two free balls in the rally, the Lady Bisons were unable to take the lead, with the hit from the left side landing long. 17-16 was then a pretty long rally, with each side digging setter dumps and roll shots that should put one team at a decided edge. The play ended with Dobson's hit from the middle failing to clear the net, making it 18-16 Jacksonville. Kellerman's line hit on 19-17 landed just wide and long, and Lipscomb called time down 20-17.
The Dolphins edged ahead 21-17 on a weird play. They protested that Lipscomb's hit in the midst of the play failed to clear the net. Seconds later, before the Lady Bisons returned the ball, the whistle was blown, but for a double hit. A bit strange. Jacksonville kept siding out, and got the block up against Ford on 22-18 to go up five. A service ace for Courtney then made it set point Jacksonville on 24-18. Dobson staved off the first set point, but Strausbaugh terminated on the next rally to finish set 4 by a 25-19 count.
Lipscomb came out strong in set 4, taking seven of the first eight in a veritable blink of an eye. I expected to see a Jacksonville timeout a couple of different times in that run, finally taking it as they fell down 7-1. Nyquist at last got the Dolphins their sideout on 7-2, leaving them still with a big hill to climb. Prestes rotated to serve on 7-2, and immediately hit long. Got to be deflating to sideout and then give it right back. On 8-2, Nyquist appeared to play a ball that was heading wide, making for another Lipscomb point. The 10-5 rally ended with a kill for Ford for Lipscomb, the ball landing into the hands of Jacksonville head coach Michelle Collier. An overpass on the next rally resulted in a soft, easy kill for Spitznagle up the middle. After Kellerman's kill through the block on the left side made it 14-5, Jacksonville expended their second and final timeout of the set.
Roman entered the match, for the first time since her three-error first set, and scored a point for each side, a kill and an error. Then on 15-6, Strausbaugh hit long, and got clearly admonished by the up referee for….something. On 16-6, Lipscomb libero McCombs scored an all-too-easy ace, some campfire defence by the Dolphins. The Lady Bisons lead extended to twelve at 18-6 before a service error finally got the Dolphins their sideout.
Jacksonville made it back to a single-digit deficit, getting to within 19-10 after a Kellerman hitting error, and to within eight on 21-13 after a double hit on the Lipscomb side, but that was small consolation as the set wore on to its inexorable conclusion. Lipscomb reached set point at 24-15 after a right-side kill for Estes. Jacob staved off one on Jacksonville's reception point, scoring on the slide attack, but Estes finished it off on their reception point for a 25-16 final.
After kills from Strausbaugh and Dobson to start the decider, the 1-all rally was an absolute dogfight, ending with a long hit from Kellerman to give Jacksonville their sideout. Another Kellerman miss gave Jacksonville the first substantial lead at 4-2. A big block on the Jacksonville side made it 6-3, and prompted Lipscomb's first timeout.
Robertson found the floor to push Jacksonville's lead up to four at 7-3, and then she and Nyquist put up the double block against Spitznagle. That made it 8-3, and the teams switched sides. Ford got her side the big sideout with the kill from left side making it 8-4. That still left Lipscomb with a long road to come even, but a let-serve ace and a double block by Spitznagle and Ford made it 8-6, and it was Jacksonville's turn to call time.
Nyquist got the first-ball sideout after the timeout, to inch her side closer to glory. She got another kill on the next rally, finding hands on the way out to make it 10-6. Lipscomb called their final timeout there.
Ford got the Lady Bisons the sideout on 10-7, and then Strausbaugh hit long on the next rally to make it 10-8. A service error put the Dolphins back ahead by three. On 11-8, it looked for all the world like Estes found hands on her long hit, but the Lady Bisons got no call. A service error by Jacksonville this time got Lipscomb their sideout. Back-to-back hitting errors by Dobson and Estes brought about match point for the Dolphins on 14-9. Dobson saved the first on the right-side slide play, but there was no denying Strausbaugh at the end.
#1 Jacksonville d. #3 Lipscomb (25-27, 28-26, 25-19, 16-25, 15-10)
Great tournament final, and a worthy way of finding an automatic qualifier. At the end, the colour commentator (who I thought did a pretty good job, as did the play-by-play man….much better than the two nervous greenhorns we had broadcasting this tournament from Lipscomb last year) indignantly stated that Lipscomb should be in the NCAA tournament, too, and that their exclusion would be another sign that it "doesn't work." There's plenty to dislike about the NCAA tournament and how it's run, but, um, no. That's stretching it a little.
Jacksonville will be sent to Florida's sub-regional, more than likely to play the Gators themselves in the first round, and they'll lose in three. That was always going to be a best-case scenario for anyone from this conference in the NCAA tournament. Doesn't mean the Dolphins didn't accomplish something special — they most certainly did. From 10 wins a year ago to the NCAA tournament this year, that's very special. Doesn't mean they shouldn't enjoy today — of course they should. But let's be realistic; this is not exactly a power conference, and the great competitive volleyball we saw the last two days would not translate to the same against teams at the next level.
Weirdly, even if Jacksonville had lost, this wouldn't have been the end of their season. Their Senior Night isn't until next Tuesday, in a non-conference match with the MEAC's Florida A&M Lady Rattlers.
For tonight, the Lady Bisons spread their options on offence quite effectively, with Estes, Kellerman, Ford, and Dobson each getting 13 or more kills (Dobson tops with 17). The one gruesome hitting line was Spitznagle's, as she found the Dolphin block much too often, going 4/9/20, for a negative .250. She did lead the team in individual blocks with 7. The Dolphins also had four hitters reach double figures, with Strausbaugh, Robertson, Nyquist, and Jacob getting there. Jacob topped the tote board, tying Dobson for match high with 17. And even on kind of an off day for Strausbaugh, she still recorded a double-double, getting 10 kills and 15 digs.
Congratulations to the Jacksonville Dolphins for winning the 2013 Atlantic Sun volleyball tournament championship!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
