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And here's our nightcap, third-seeded Lipscomb taking on the defending A-Sun tournament champions East Tennessee State. These two teams met last year in the A-Sun tournament, with ETSU obviously coming up victorious. They played two five-setters in the regular season this year, with ETSU winning both of those as well — and both of them 15-13 in the fifth.
The Buccaneers ran off six of seven to begin the match, getting everyone involved on offence. A Lady Bison hitting error capped off the run, leading to a timeout on the Lipscomb side. Bethany Gesell's run on serve finally ended after the timeout, with Lauren Ford powering through the block for the kill. She added another to bring her team back within three on 6-3. Buccaneer setter Jamie Rutledge put the ball away nicely on 7-4, getting some hops to negate her 5-8 frame. The dump found the floor, and ETSU went up four. The lead made its way to five on the next rally, as Molly Spitznagle missed her swing into the net. The lead held up to 11-6, when Lipscomb curiously used their second timeout.
ETSU did an impossible job keeping the ball alive on the 11-6 rally, and got the point when Jewell Dobson hit long on her slide attack. It revealed a nice cheering section for the Bucs that had travelled with them, as that play got easily the loudest cheer of the night. Pint-sized libero Katie Muey rotated back to serve on 13-7, and got a winner, forcing the Lady Bisons' back row to pass poorly. It led to an easy kill for Devine in transition. The Lady Bisons briefly drew a point back to get within five, but the seven-point lead for East Tennessee State was established again, at 16-9. On the 16-10 rally, Lipscomb libero Bri McCombs played a ball that appeared to be heading out. It looked like her teammates thought it was out, too, as no one was there to field her pass, the ball falling in harmlessly.
Meredith Hardy powered through the block on the slide attack on the next rally to make it 18-10, giving the Bucs their biggest lead of the set. A net violation agains the Pirates got the Lady Bisons back within six on 19-13. Khadijah Wiley and Devine put up two straight blocks against Brittnay Estes on the other side to make it an eight-point margin again at 21-13. Lipscomb then ran off three straight, including an ace for Kayla Ostrom, prompting the Bucs to call their first timeout of the set.
The Bucs got the first-ball sideout with Devine following the timeout. A mini-run on Muey's serve got them to set point at 24-17. And that wasn't the end; Ivey Rice smacked her left-side hit off the block and out to end the first frame on 25-17.
The beginning of set 2 was a flip-flop of what set 1 was, with the Lady Bisons claiming six of the first eight points. Devine got the Bucs their sideout on 6-3, and then another hitting error from Estes, who had a few in set 1, made it 6-4. Ford hitting into the antenna made it 6-5. She got the point back on the next rally, scoring with a perfectly beach-esque cut shot. Lipscomb edged back to three on 9-6, winning a long rally as Sophie Kellerman found the parquet.
It went sideout after sideout for a good, long stretch after that. Spitznagle and Estes ended the string, getting a double block against Devine to put Lipscomb up 15-11. It was the Lady Bisons' first block of the match. Spitznagle got the kill on the next rally to make it 16-11, and the Bucs called timeout.
The Bucs drew back a point following back-to-back kills by Ivey Rice, prompting Lipscomb's timeout at 17-14. The Bucs made it within two on 18-16 when Dobson failed to clear the net on a tip shot attempt. After a few more sideouts, Devine found the floor on 20-18 to get her side within a point. It appeared that a missed call went the Bucs' way, as an earlier volley on their side seemed to hit the net rather than the block. Lipscomb head coach Brandon Rosenthal got up to complain, but nothing happened. His team got the point back on 21-19 when setter Caitlin Dotson scored an ace. That prompted ETSU's last timeout.
The first rally back from the timeout was a contentious one, with the Bucs going to Wiley up the middle. ETSU looked for a touch to be called, but none was. Floor captain Devine protested, and got a verbal warning from the up referee. After a couple more sideouts, Ford's made it set point for Lipscomb at 24-20. Wiley staved off the first, on reception, but Spitznagle got the first-ball sideout on 25-21 to send us to intermission tied at a set apiece.
Muey started off on serve for the Bucs, getting a nice one off that led to an off-balance hit and a block on the ETSU side. Her next serve looked to be just as good, eliciting an overpass, but the Lady Bisons were there for the block themselves to get the early tie. Lipscomb were the first to pull ahead by two, doing so at 4-2 after a kill from Estes. The response from the Bucs was immediate, with Ivey Rice getting two on serve following the sideout to put ETSU ahead 5-4. The Lady Bisons went ahead again at 7-6, but it was amid more crowing from their head coach about double-hits not getting called. Sure enough, right then he was assessed a yellow card. Remember that there's no direct penalty for that in NCAA women's volleyball.
The brief delay may have upset the Bucs a little, as Lipscomb struck for an ace. They got their lead up to 9-6 and it looked like they were well in line to make it 10-6, but Devine turned a sure free-ball into a kill with a weird litle looping, arching, cross-court shot for the kill. Undeterred, the Lady Bisons got their four-point lead, with Kellerman claiming a couple on serve. Her serve on 12-8 flew long, granting the Bucs the sideout they needed. Ford's kill put the Lady Bisons ahead 14-9, and ETSU called time.
Further chirping from Lipscomb's head coach brought us back from timeout, but his young women took the next point, going up six following a hitting error by Gesell. The lead made it to seven at 17-10 with Spitznagle and Ford putting up the double block. Estes and Spitznagle then rejected Rice on the next rally, reaching an 18-10 lead, at ETSU's last timeout.
The first point back from the timeout was just like the last one before it, with Estes and Spitznagle blocking Rice. Hardy finally managed to power through the block from the middle on the next rally, siding out on 19-11, but Lipscomb kept up the pressure, their lead reaching an unthinkable 10 at 21-11. It went sideout after sideout to 23-13, when the Lady Bisons got another service winner to reach set point at 24-13. A double hit on the ETSU side (bet Lipscomb's coach liked that) sealed it right there.
The Lady Bisons rolled on to begin set 4, taking four of the first five on the back of some strong serving by DS Stephanie Rex. The Bucs responded, on the serve of setter Rutledge, with four straight to take the lead themselves. They took their first substantial lead in a very long time following Kellerman's wide hit that made it 8-6. The seesaw set continued as the Lady Bisons levelled the set again at 9-all. The deadlock held through a sideout string, including a baffling run of service errors. ETSU finally scored on serve again to go up 14-12, with a double block by Devine and Wiley prompting Lipscomb's first timeout.
Lipscomb took three of the first four after the timeout to tie the score again at 15, making it effectively a set to 10. Further ties happened at every numerical score from 16 through 21, as the tension grew thick. When Lipscomb took the lead at 22-21, on a block for Estes against Wiley, that prompted ETSU coach Lindsey Devine to call time.
The Bucs got the sideout up the middle with Wiley making for another tie at 22-all. Lipscomb got the sideout again to get to 23-22, and interestingly, ETSU called time again. The Bucs sided out to draw to 23-all, and then reached set point at 24-23 following a double block by Gesell and Hardy. Unsurprisingly, Lipscomb called their final timeout there. On the first rally back, the two struck again, rejecting Kellerman for the 25-23 final to send us to the race to 15.
The decider was very close, just like set 4 had been. There were ties at the first three scores, before hitting errors by Spitznagle and Ford put the Bucs ahead 5-3. Estes got the sideout on 5-4 with a tip shot up the middle. Devine found the floor from the middle (not her usual spot) to make it 6-4, keeping Lipscomb from coming even there. A double hit from ETSU setter Rutledge a moment later tied the set at 6-all. Another dodgy set, leading to a block for Lipscomb, prompted ETSU's timeout at 7-6.
East Tennessee State managed to sideout for 7-all, ahead of the side change at 8-7 Lipscomb. A big service ace made it 9-7 afterward. Rice hit long on 9-7, but got fingertips at the net, making it 9-8. Devine put the hammer down from the pipe for a potentially season-saving kill, making it 9-all. Further ties at 9, 10, and 11, ahead of Ashleigh Shain's ace. It was an odd attempt at reception from Ford on the Lipscomb side, and the Lady Bisons immediately called timeout as they fell behind 12-11. It was just her second service ace of the season.
Ford emphatically got the point back after the timeout, with a first-ball sideout to make it 12-all. Dotson's service error inched the Bucs closer, and Lipscomb called time again. Ford again got the sideout, bailing out her teammates after a so-so pass and set. On 13-all, Devine hit into the double block on the left side, giving Lipscomb the first chance at match point. To the surprise of no one, ETSU called their last timeout there.
Devine staved off match point, and we marched on to extras in set 5. Spitznagle sided out up the middle to give Lipscomb their second attempt at match point. Libero Bri McCombs rotated back to serve, and on an odd, contentious, anticlimactic finale, she scored an ace to win the match. It was very strange — it was an overpass that flew over the night. ETSU, and in particular floor captain Megan Devine, protested that the ball was in (there was no available replay that showed the play clearly). But the match was over, and handshakes at centre court ensued.
#3 Lipscomb d. #2 East Tennessee State (17-25, 25-21, 25-13, 23-25, 16-14)
Needless to say, we saw two pretty evenly-matched teams in tis match tonight. Sets 1 and 3 featured less-than-optimal play from each side (first one and then the other), but the others were all pretty tight, and boy did it come right down to the wire.
Conference Player of the Year Dobson led all scorers with 18 kills for Lipscomb. Ford followed closely with 17. Devine led the way for ETSU in her final college match with 15, and Wiley (12) and Rice (10) also entered double figures.
With Devine the only senior on the Buccaneer roster, you might want to say "they'll be back," but the fact is they won't. Not to this tournament, anyway — for 2014-15, East Tennessee State University is set to re-join the Southern Conference. This was their final volleyball match as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. And with that odd final play, I don't doubt they'll be smarting over this one for a while, until they officially become SoCon members. One wonders if they'll continue to schedule Lipscomb as a non-conference foe, as they've built up a bit of a rivalry in recent years.
The Lady Bisons now face the Jacksonville Dolphins tomorrow, with the NCAA tournament automatic bid at stake.
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