COLUMBIA, Ky. – For the second time in three home contests, and the fourth instance overall, the Lindsey Wilson volleyball team and its opponent needed five sets to determine the outcome of their match.

In front of an enthusiastic crowd at Biggers Sports Center, the Blue Raiders battled back from a one-set deficit, but ultimately fell to the visiting Phoenix of Cumberland University, 3-2.

Wednesday evening's decision drops the locals to 2-2 on the year in five-set affairs and snaps a season-long two-game win streak on their home floor.

Cumberland took control early in the first frame, scoring four-straight points to set the tone. From there, the Phoenix tacked on to their advantage and eventually led by as many as eight points before Lindsey Wilson started chipping away. Trailing 23-16, the Blue Raiders got some help from a series of errors by the visitors to pull within three, but that is as close as they could get as the Phoenix claimed the opening set, 25-21.

The guests, again, got the ball rolling in the following set. Though, this time the Blue Raiders kept in striking distance thanks to the attacking efforts of Elizabeth Moore and Alexis Smith. With the likes of Savanah Pippin joining in the fray, the hosts stuck around as the two sides traded jabs until Cumberland got its nose in front, 14-12. Not to be deterred, Lindsey Wilson muscled right back with a kill from Pippin and back-to-back service aces by Wiktoria Stankiewicz. That lead change came as part of a 6-0 run by the Blue Raiders, edging them ahead en route to a 25-22 set victory.

In the middle frame, it was the Blue Raiders storming out the gate, as a pair of kills off the hands of Aleksandra Wyrzkowska helped the home side build an early 7-2 cushion. Despite the lead slowly expanding, the Phoenix kept their eyes forward and charged back into contention with an 8-3 stretch to knot the score at 10-10. Consecutive kills by Moore to force the Blue Raiders ahead 12-10 were not enough to fend off Cumberland as the set progressed, and a 7-2 run by the visitors down the stretch closed it out in their favor, 25-19.

The penultimate set of the evening quickly became a back-and-forth battle with neither side letting the other too far out of its sight. Even still, Cumberland managed to open up a 13-10 lead, only to see it swiftly countered by an 8-3 Lindsey Wilson run. With the energy rapidly rising inside the Biggers Sports Center, the Blue Raiders channeled that momentum into their game to force a winner-take-all fifth set, 25-23.

In that set, however, the home side could never fully recover from an early deficit, even with their attacking front throwing down everything they could to try and break past Cumberland's persistent net presence.

At the end of the night, Lindsey Wilson had recorded over 60 total kills for the third time this season, finishing with 63 behind a match-high 23 from Smith, and a career-best 16 successful attacks by Moore.

Defensively, Embry Burgess, Natalie Ackermann, and Logan Seagraves each posted double-digits in digs, with 17, 15, and 13, respectively.

Camryn Rich led the Raiders' with 29 assists, receiving additional support from Monika Szwarc's 10 dimes.

Lindsey Wilson is right back in action on Saturday against the University of Tennessee Southern. That contest is slated to begin at 3 p.m. CST at Biggers.