COLUMBIA, Ky. – At Biggers Sports Center, the Lindsey Wilson volleyball team shook off a late push by the visitors to pull off a 3-1 victory over the defending conference tournament champions.

With echoes of last season's results looming, the Blue Raiders outlasted Cumberland 51-48 on the attack, despite being outhit .260 to .239, and fended off a loss in the third set to seal the deal in the fourth.

"Tonight felt good, absolutely," expressed head coach Aubrey Beaumont postgame. "We lost the pass and serve game a little, but the setter and middle connection that we had today really leaked in through our practice yesterday.

The Lindsey Wilson middle hitters accounted for 19 kills on the evening, including seven each from Savanah Pippin and Lindamara Conceicao and five from Alix Stoermer, the latter two making triumphant returns to the court after missing respective time with injuries.

"All three of our middles did a great job offensively," said Beaumont. "I thought they were present and dominant, so it was really good to see them connect with our setters."

Luiza Goncalves linked up with her attackers for a team-high 27 assists, while Monika Szwarc chipped in 17 dimes. All told, 10 different Blue Raiders produced a kill on Friday evening, the most in a single match so far this season.

Stoermer was responsible for the first Lindsey Wilson kill of the match, and it gave the hosts an early 2-0 lead in the opening set. Cumberland responded subsequently to knot the score at 5-5, but the Blue Raiders found a rhythm from there to piece together an 11-4 run. The Phoenix managed to cut their deficit down the stretch, trimming the Lindsey Wilson lead to as little as three points before running out of gas. A successful spike by Elizabeth Moore solidified a first-set win for the Blue Raiders, 25-19.

Cumberland built up some momentum out of the break to go ahead 8-4, then a 6-2 swing by Lindsey Wilson swiftly drew the two sides level at 10-10. The Phoenix continued to press, however and went on a 6-0 run to force a Blue Raider timeout. After the huddle, the home team went to work crawling back into the set. A series of miscues by the opposition set in motion a 6-1 turnaround, capitalized by back-to-back service aces from Szwarc. Leading now by only a point, Cumberland appeared to snatch back the energy in the game to sneak in front, 23-21, prompting another timeout from coach Beaumont. That is when Ola Wyrzykowska took over with three consecutive kills to set up a set-sealing service ace by Rachele Tessari.

The Phoenix approached the third set similar to how they began the second, eventually opening up a 16-9 advantage that Lindsey Wilson could not overcome.

In the fourth frame, the Blue Raiders galloped out to a 5-1 cushion with help from kills by Pippin and Bella Christafaro. Even as Cumberland pushed back to take a 9-8 lead, the hosts remained composed to string a 10-4 counter. As the final stages of the match inched closer, Lindsey Wilson turned to its serving game to finish off the Phoenix. Elisa Burzio, who led the team in the match with nine kills and four aces, delivered back-to-back aces to ultimately clinch the set and the match.

"It was all up to them," stressed Beaumont on her team's efforts. "The ball is in their court on how they choose to communicate, and the competitiveness between our girls is there and in every practice, so to see them start to bring it shows that they're ready to compete, no matter what it takes and who's on the court."

Lindsey Wilson closed the evening with 12 service aces, the second-highest output from the line this season.

The Blue Raiders are back at home to host Georgetown on Tuesday, October 10, signaling the start of the second half of the conference schedule.