BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Lindsey Wilson volleyball team saved its most inspiring performance of the season for last on Saturday afternoon, coming back from a 2-1 deficit to force a fifth set before ultimately falling to Cumberlands (Ky.) in the Mid-South Conference tournament championship match at Bowling Green High School.

Elisa Burzio led a trio of Blue Raider attackers in double-figures for kills with 12, followed by Madison Bidwell and Lindamara Conceicao with 11 and 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Luiza Goncalves turned in another personal-best 46 assists and 19 digs for a second-consecutive double-double. Natalie Ackermann paced the defense with 21 digs to bring her to 985 for her career.

The day's first set opened with a 5-5 tie, then a kill from Burzio and back-to-back service aces by Alessia Bergesio sparked a 6-2 run to put Lindsey Wilson ahead 11-7. The Blue Raiders' lead grew to 18-13 until an 8-1 swing by the Patriots pushed them in front 21-19. Despite Lindsey Wilson tallying the next two points to draw even at 21-21, Cumberlands responded with four of the next five points to take the set and a 1-0 lead in the match.

Cumberlands jumped out to a 10-6 advantage in the second set. A strike from Elizabeth Moore and an ace by Goncalves, though, quickly countered and helped the Blue Raiders to level the score 11-11. The Patriots got their noses in front repeatedly afterward and eventually led 18-16 before four straight kills by Bidwell, Moore, and Savanah Pippin gave Lindsey Wilson a two-point edge. Cumberlands managed to battle back and force an extended set but kills from Burzio and Conceicao put the set away 26-24 and tied the match at 1-1.

A fast start by the Patriots gave them control of the third setup 10-2. Lindsey Wilson was able to trim the deficit down to three points. However, Cumberlands utilized a pair of small rallies to pull away and take a 2-1 set advantage.

In the fourth frame, the Blue Raiders fell behind 7-2. A successful attack by Conceico ignited the offense and Lindsey Wilson stormed back to cut the Patriots' lead to one. Later on, an electric 8-0 run by the Blue Raiders, featuring two aces by Bergesio and a kill each from Goncalves and Ola Wyrzykowska, sent Lindsey Wilson off to a 22-16 lead. Another kill by Conceicao and an emphatic strike by Pippin clinched the fourth set for the Blue Raiders and sent the finals to a deciding fifth.

Both sides traded jabs throughout the tie-breaking set, with Lindsey Wilson going up 5-3 first before Cumberlands responded to take a 10-7 lead. After a Blue Raider timeout, Wyrzykowska got things rolling with a kill to send her team off on a 4-0 run. The Patriots countered, however, and earned themselves a pair of match points that Lindsey Wilson dealt with and fought off. The Blue Raiders, unfortunately, could not keep Cumberlands down for long and did drop the fifth set 16-14.

The Blue Raider volleyball team concludes its 2023 season with a 19-15 overall record.