COLUMBIA, Ky.– Cumberland volleyball came up just short on the road, falling 3-1 (21-25, 14-25, 25-23, 30-32) to No. 25 Lindsey Wilson Wednesday night inside Biggers Sports Center.
With the loss, the Phoenix move to 19-9 overall and 3-2 in the Mid-South Conference, while the Blue Raiders improve to 19-5 and 4-1 in conference play to move into second place in the standings.
As a team, Cumberland tallied 47 kills with a .130 hitting percentage, along with 45 assists, 87 digs, six blocks, and six service aces. The Phoenix showed strong defensive effort but struggled to find rhythm early before surging back in the third and narrowly dropping a marathon fourth set.
Lila Cade continued her stellar play, leading the Phoenix with 12 kills while hitting .268 and adding 26 digs and three service aces for a double-double.
Carlee Rogers posted a strong all-around performance with 13 kills, 17 digs, and 19 assists, while
Hailey Jones had nine kills and
Hazel Konkel added six.
Emma Carter dished out 20 assists, and
Kaleigh Glass recorded 19 digs on the back line and
Morgan Snead added 14.
Lindsey Wilson countered with 52 kills and a .180 attack percentage, collecting 48 assists, 84 digs, 13 aces, and five team blocks.
Offensively, Ola Wyrzykowska led all players with 22 kills and a .358 hitting percentage, while also serving four aces and totaling 17 digs. Brooke Robinson added 12 kills and Marija Raonic also had double figure kills with 10. Luiza Goncalves dished out 41 assists to guide the Blue Raider attack. Momo Hampton finished with a team-high 25 digs in the lib jersey for Lindsey.
In the opening set, the Phoenix hung close early, but the Blue Raiders pulled away late behind five kills from Wyrzykowska to take it 25-21. The Blue Raiders tacked on 14 kills in the set.
Lindsey Wilson carried that momentum into set two, using three aces and a huge run to run away with the set. With Cumberland leading 12-11, the Blue Raiders used a 14-2 spurt to win the set 25-14 and take a 2-0 match lead.
Cumberland responded in the third with renewed energy. The Phoenix jumped out 3-0 and then up 4-1 Lindsey went on a 9-0 to get up 10-4 when the urgency kicked in for CU. Cumberland rallied to tie it at 15-15 before pulling away late for a 25-23 set win.
The fourth set was an instant classic, featuring 12 ties and multiple set points for both teams. The Phoenix fought off three match points before Lindsey Wilson finally closed it out 32-30 to seal the win.
Cumberland will return to action this weekend with a tri-match at Campbellsville University, facing both the Tigers and Talladega College.
