COLUMBIA, Ky. – In front of a sea of blue inside Biggers Sports Center, the Lindsey Wilson volleyball team overcame two one-set deficits to take round one of the "Battle of Highway 55" over Campbellsville (Ky.).
The visiting Tigers won sets one and three and earned a match-point opportunity in the fifth set, but the Blue Raiders never surrendered despite being outhit for the match 0.256 to 0.211.
Eliza Burzio, – 17 kills, 14 digs, –
Lara Danesi, – 14 kills, 11 digs – and
Luiza Goncalves – 46 assists, 13 digs – each recorded double-doubles, while
Ola Wyrzykowska narrowly missed out on one of her own, finishing with 13 kills and nine digs.
As a team, Lindsey Wilson bested the Tigers from the service line with 10 aces to Campbellsville's eight. Goncalves contributed four of those aces. Danesi and Wyrzykowska combined for five.
Out of the gate, the Tigers opened up a 9-1 lead and proceeded to carry the early momentum to a 25-10 set win.
Again, in the second, Campbellsville found itself in control initially, taking a 9-3 lead. Back-to-back attack errors went in Lindsey Wilson's favor and sparked a 13-3 run that included three consecutive kills by Danesi. The Tigers clawed back to trim the Blue Raiders' cushion to a single point, but a pair of successful attacks from Burzio and an ace by
Haleigh Wood restored the host's four-point advantage, and they held off Campbellsville from there to take the second frame 25-23 and tie the match.
After falling behind 8-1 to start the middle set, Lindsey Wilson pieced together an 8-1 rally with two kills from Wyrzykowska and four Tiger errors. The set became a back-and-forth contest before Campbellsville used a four-point swing to go ahead by five points and eventually seal the set 25-22.
The Blue Raiders outhit the Tigers 0.278 to 0.222 in the fourth set, helping them to a lead as large as eight points. Up 19-11, Lindsey Wilson was tasked with fending off a furious Campbellsville push that ended up surviving three set-points. Ultimately, an emphatic spike by Danesi lit up the scoreboard for the home side and forced a winner-take-all fifth set.
Campbellsville scored first in the final frame but was swiftly countered by a three-point Blue Raider run. The Tigers answered, however, and built a three-point, 11-8 lead to draw a Lindsey Wilson timeout. After the break, Danesi took over with two kills sandwiching a two-way block by
Elizabeth Moore and Wyrzykowska. Campbellsville pulled back in front to create a match-point chance, but an electric block by
Brenda Arango denied the Tigers and kept Lindsey Wilson alive. A service ace from Wyrzykowska flipped the script in her team's favor, then Burzio put the nail in the coffin with 17
th kill of the match.
Tuesday night's victory is Lindsey Wilson's second consecutive versus Campbellsville. It is also the Blue Raiders' fourth straight in their current streak and sixth straight at home dating back to last season.
Lindsey Wilson hits the road at 6 p.m. CST on Thursday, September 12 to visit Asbury (Ky.).
