Friday, December 04, 2009

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Lipscomb Lady Bisons were given a daunting challenge, and they faced it with a strong resolve.

But in the end the Golden Bears of California, the No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, prevailed winning the match 3-0 at St. John Arena here Friday night on the campus of Ohio State. The loss ended the Lady Bisons winning streak at 25 matches.

The Lady Bisons lost set one 25-15., set two 25-22 and set three 25-9 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Lipscomb coach Brandon Rosenthal had been worried about the impact of Cal setter Carli Lloyd. But in the end it was outside hitter Hana Cutura, the Pac-10 Player of the Year, who was the dominant figure in the match.

In the first two sets she was credited with 16 kills. The Lady Bisons, as a team, made only 24 in the first two sets. Cutura made a match-high 20 kills. Tarah Murrey added 10.

Junior outside hitter Meghan Hinemyer led the Lady Bisons with nine kills. Junior middle hitter Alex Kelly added eight.

Kelly also led the team with nine digs. Kristen Kathan had a match-high 13.

Set three was controlled from the start by Cal. The Golden Bears jumped out to a 6-0 lead, before the Lady Bisons scored.

In set two the Lady Bisons spotted Cal the first three points and battle back to take the lead. The set was close with neither team leading by more than two points until the Lady Bisons took a 15-12 advantage. Cal battled back to tie the match at 16-16.

But the Lady Bisons again took the lead at 17-16. Cal would tied the set again at 17-17, but again the Lady Bisons took an 18-17 lead. Cal tied the set at 18-18 and then took a 20-18 lead. The Lady Bisons stayed close. A kill by middle hitter Amy Trykowski pulled the Lady Bisons to within one point at 23-22, but Cal prevailed.