LEBANON, Tenn. – The (RV) Blue Raider volleyball scored a massive, come-from-behind conference win at (RV) Cumberland (Tenn) on Tuesday evening, charging back from two sets down to ground the Phoenix 3-2.
Lindsey Wilson's stunning effort marks the program's first victory, in which the Blue Raiders dropped the first two sets, since September 19, 2019. It also secured a regular-season sweep of Cumberland for the second year in a row.
Freshman
Brooke Robinson notched her second double-double of the year with 13 kills and 15 digs.
Ola Wyrzykowska followed close behind with a team-best 16 kills and nine digs.
Luiza Gonçalves, who is fresh off a triple-double on Saturday, ended up with 30 assists, 11 digs, and eight kills.
Momo Hampton had 25 digs and three service aces,
Layla HuYoung recorded a season-high 15 digs, and
Hana Kisa put down four aces.
"We relied on our seniors to play like seniors and our freshmen to grow up a little bit tonight," said head coach
Josh Kreiner. "Layla and Brooke played awesome! When you can rely on your freshmen to play like juniors, you are going to have a good match. I am very proud of us keeping a level head and staying in the match the entire night."
The Blue Raiders struggled offensively in the first two sets, hitting 0.024 to Cumberland's 0.194. With that, the hosts managed two narrow set wins – 25-22 and 25-23 – to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match.
Lindsey Wilson responded in the third frame with 12 kills and a 0.258 attack percentage, while limiting the Phoenix to 0.065. Then, despite neither side hitting better than 0.100 in the fourth, the visitors did just enough to force a fifth set. The Blue Raiders tallied three service aces and two blocks in set four. Cumberland had none of each.
In the fifth, the Blue Raiders pushed ahead 13-9 before the Phoenix rallied back to tie the set at 13-13. On the ensuring serve, Gonçalves caught the Cumberland defense napping and dumped over her eighth kill of the match. Then, on match-point, Gonçalves fed Wyrzykowska for a roll-shot kill that sent the Phoenix scrambling with no answer.
Lindsey Wilson carries its momentum into Thursday's highly-anticipated road match at Campbellsville (Ky.)
