CREVE COEUR, Mo. – The Lindsey Wilson volleyball team opened play in the Missouri Baptist Classic on Friday, dropping a five-set decision to the hosts before bouncing back to sweep Saint Ambrose (Iowa).

Ola Wyrzykowska totaled 21 kills and two services on the day. Bella Christófaro and Elisa Burzio added 15, each, Savanah Pippin chipped in a dozen, and Brenda Arango contributed 11 kills.

On defense, Autumn McCutchen finished with a team-high 25 digs and Laura Milori ended with 19 digs. As for at the net, Pippin tallied five blocks in both of the Blue Raiders' matches for a day-high 10.

 
Match One: (RV) Lindsey Wilson 2, (RV) Missouri Baptist 3

The Blue Raiders recorded a season-high 11.5 total blocks, but the resilient Spartan offense broke through one too many times to overcome a two-set deficit and take the morning match in five.

Wyrzykowska paced the offense with 15 kills, while Arango hit .444 with eight kills and zero attack errors to go along with five blocks.

Gonçalves passed out 36 assists against her former team and led Lindsey Wilson from the service line with a pair of aces.

The Blue Raiders built a lead as large as nine points in the first set, up 21-12. Missouri Baptist mounted a charge to cut the visitor's advantage to just two points, but a decisive kill by Burzio sealed the first frame, 25-22.

Scoring in the second set was more back-and-forth. Trailing 13-12, another Burzio hit sparked a five-point rally for Lindsey Wilson to go ahead 17-13. The Blue Raiders maintained their lead for the remainder of the set, despite Missouri Baptist, again, putting together a late push.

The Spartans outkilled the Blue Raiders 36-20 over the third and fourth sets.

In the fifth, Lindsey Wilson opened up a 4-1 cushion before Missouri Baptist countered to take a 6-4 lead. Even as the Blue Raiders battled to stay within striking distance, a four-point run by the Spartans to increase their lead to 12-7 proved to be the difference.

 
Match Two: (RV) Lindsey Wilson 3, Saint Ambrose (Iowa) 0

A significant comeback in the second set and a dominating effort in the third propelled the Blue Raiders to their 13^th sweep of the season.

Christófaro led a balanced attack for Lindsey Wilson, matching a season-high eight kills, while Gonçalves notched another double-double behind an 18-assist, 13 dig effort.

The Fighting Bees started the scoring with three straight points. Lindsey Wilson responded quickly to knot the score at 3-3, then added four more to go up 7-5. The two sides exchanged small runs, one after another, with Saint Ambrose eventually taking a 20-16 lead. Four consecutive Blue Raiders blocks sent a jolt through Lindsey Wilson's side of the floor and charged the score 24-22 in its favor. The Fighting Bees hung around to fend off two set-point opportunities, but a kill by Pippin and an attack error won the first set for the Blue Raiders, 26-24.

Lindsey Wilson held a slim, 11-10 lead in the middle frame prior to a six-point Fighting Bees run. That stretch ballooned to a 10-1 sequence for a 20-12 Saint Ambrose lead. A series of four-straight Blue Raider kills, opened by Arango, launched Lindsey Wilson on a massive 13-2 stretch to, ultimately, clinch the set, 25-22.

The Blue Raiders were well in control of the third, posting separate 6-0 and 10-1 runs to hold off the Fighting Bees down the stretch and record the sweep.

 
Lindsey Wilson returns to the Carl & Deloris Petty SRC at 9 a.m. CST on Saturday to challenge No. 24 McPherson (Kan.) and Faulkner (Ala.).