Lindsey Wilson Athletics – Conference Schedule Opens Thursday in Tennessee for Volleyball

GAMEDAY NOTES | LIVE STATS (CUMBERLAND | TENNESSEE SOUTHERN) | LIVE VIDEO (CUMBERLAND | TENNESSEE SOUTHERN)

COLUMBIA, Ky. – For the seventh consecutive season, the Lindsey Wilson volleyball team will open its conference slate on the road as the Blue Raiders venture to Lebanon, Tennessee to take on Cumberland University on Thursday evening before continuing south to Pulaski to meet the University of Tennessee Southern on Saturday.

The start of league-play could be just what the locals need after recently completing a demanding non-conference schedule. Since 2011, Lindsey Wilson is 150-14 against Mid-South foes during the regular season, including a combined 29 wins and one loss against their opponents this weekend.

Cumberland enters Thursday’s contest with seven wins in its first nine matches for the second-straight season and is led by freshman standout Hazel Konkel. The Phoenix middle hitter has been a consistent presence at the net with 73 kills and the third-most solo blocks in the NAIA (20). She is flanked by the junior duo of Harlee Kate Reid and Lauren Galvan, who leads the team with 81 and 74 successful attacks, respectively.

The Firehawks of Tennessee Southern are winless in their last seven matches but have had to go through the likes of second-ranked Midland University (Neb.), No. 6 Jamestown (S.D.), and No. 16 College of Saint Mary just to get to their conference opener, which is set for Wednesday versus Campbellsville.

Senior Brianna Turner and sophomores Hannah Oliver and Laura Howell each rank fourth among league athletes in their respective statistical categories – Turner with 132 kills, Oliver with 145 digs, and Howell with 294 assists – to make up a balanced Firehawk lineup. As a team, Tennessee Southern has served up the 20^th-most aces in the nation (79).

Speaking of solid serving, the Blue Raiders are rolling off of a three-set sweep of Brescia University, in which they posted 13 aces. The win against the Bearcats also snapped a five-game skid for the locals, putting them back on the winning track.

Elizabeth Moore is an attacker to keep an eye on for Lindsey Wilson. The second-year outside hitter has a 0.219 hitting percentage over her last three outings, including double-digits in kills in two of those instances. Meanwhile, freshman Monika Szwarc turned in a personal-best 22 assists in her first-career start as the Blue Raiders’ setter on Friday.

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