COLUMBIA, Ky. – An invigorating Mid-South Conference rivalry is set to be renewed for another season on the volleyball court on Tuesday evening. Lindsey Wilson, who is in the midst of the season-long six-match winning streak, travels to Williamsburg, Kentucky to challenge 14
th-ranked and undefeated Cumberlands (Ky.).
The Blue Raiders and the Patriots have met eight times in the last three years, including in each of the last two conference tournament championship matches. None of the eight previous meetings have been decided in fewer than four sets, which is important to note considering Cumberlands is riding an impressive stretch of 33 consecutive sets won, while Lindsey Wilson has won it's last 13 sets.
Tuesday's match-up will feature seven different Mid-South Conference "Players of the Week" from this season. Lindsey Wilson's
Petra Fernandez Garcia,
Ola Wyrzykowska,
Ana Clara Beltran Sacca, and
Luiza Gonçalves, and Cumberlands' Sara Zampedri, Davey Slaughter, and Savanah Jolly have combined to win 14 of 18 "Player of the Week" awards so far this year, counting all six "Setter of the Week" nods between Gonçalves and Jolly.
Cumberlands boasts the nation's second-best attack percentage, – 0.306 – led by Zampedri's individual mark of 0.262. The junior outside hitter averages 14.3 kills and 12.2 digs in six career matches against Lindsey Wilson. Her hitting percentage, however, is 0.155 versus the Blue Raiders.
Jolly takes over as the Patriots' primary setter after sharing time with Kendall Arnold in 2024. Jolly, a junior, posts 11.31 assists per set and is a two-time Second-Team All-Conference selection nearing 1,500 assists for her career. She also has three double-doubles this season.
On defense, Slaughter ranks third in the Mid-South for digs per set at 4.32. She started the season with 35 digs and 11 assists against Indiana Tech on August 22 but has not recorded more than 17 digs since.
In three meetings with Cumberlands last year, Wyrzykowska sported 14 kills and 14 digs per match. The senior has a career hitting percentage of 0.191 against the Patriots and is coming into Tuesday hitting 0.276 in Lindsey Wilson's last three matches.
Gonçalves has four career double-doubles versus the Patriots, averaging 31.3 assists and 11.7 digs across six matches. Lindsey Wilson's setter's 83 kills this season matches her total from last year and is fourth-best in the line-up.
Sacca continues to lead the conference in blocks per set – 1.03 – and Fernandez Garcia ranks top-five for both total kills and service aces.
From 2007 to 2022, Lindsey Wilson went 30-2 against Cumberlands. Then, in 2023, the Patriots swept the Blue Raiders in the regular season and took the conference tournament title over them, as well, In 2024, Lindsey Wilson returned the favor with two regular season victories and a tournament championship.
Live coverage of Tuesday evening's showdown will be provided by the Cumberlands Sports Network, beginning at 5:45 p.m. CT. from the UC Volleyball Gymnasium.
