Box Score Box Score (pdf)
 
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Wofford volleyball team took on UNCG in a battle of .500 Southern Conference opponents Friday night inside Fleming Gym, and fell in four sets (25-17, 21-25, 25-10, 25-17).
 
Seniors Amanda Liguori and Wendy Burnett each hit over .200 for Wofford (9-14, 4-5 SoCon) and had double-figure kills, but it was not enough to defeat the Spartans (12-10, 5-4 SoCon) who hit .241 as a team to Wofford's .069. The loss moves Wofford from a tie for fifth down to seventh in the league standings, while UNCG earned a crucial Southern Conference victory to remain tied for fifth place with Elon, which defeated Furman in five sets Friday night.
 
"I give a lot of credit to UNCG because they played very well tonight," Wofford head coach Ron Sweet said. "They have some very good players up front on the attack and the block. When they play well, it is hard to stop them.
 
"I thought Amanda and Wendy both played very well tonight, but the loss makes tomorrow night's match against Elon that much more important."
 
Liguori went for a match-high 13 kills, hitting .211 (13-5-38), while Burnett has 12 kills and hit .241 (12-5-29). Unfortunately, the rest of the Terrier squad hit -.094 and Wofford had just two service aces to 11 attack errors, helping a Spartan side which had four players hit .350 or better.
 
UNCG won the dig battle, 59-47, and had 15.5 blocks to none for the Terriers. Olivia Humphries led the Spartan attack with a team-high 12 kills and .364 attack percentage (12-4-22). Humphries also had nine digs, four blocks and two aces.
 
Liguori hit .444 in the opener with four kills to lead all players, but it was UNCG who ran away with the set thanks in part to eight Terrier attack errors and five Spartan blocks. Sophomore Liz Buterbaugh put down a kill for the match's very first point, but UNCG responded with the next six for an early cushion. Wofford got back within three on many occasions, the last coming at 14-11, until a 4-1 run put the home side back up by six at 18-12 and forcing Coach Sweet to use his first timeout. Wofford went on to score five more points in the set as UNCG took the opener by eight.
 
The second set was tight most of the way and had the most ties and lead changes of any set of 11 ties and three lead changes. The Terriers took their first lead at 5-4 on a four-point service run by junior Taylor Baird. UNCG grabbed the lead back at 7-6, and the Terriers would not see it again until 16-15. The two teams traded points to reach 19-all, before Wofford took the next three points, capped by an Ellie Tallman kill, and UNCG called a timeout down 22-19. The Terriers made the run 4-0 with the first point out of the timeout and leveled the match on Liguroi's fourth kill of the set.
 
UNCG adjusted and ran away with the third. After a match-low 1.5 blocks in the second set, the Spartans got four in the third and outhit Wofford .533 to .040. The first six points and 12 of the first 13 put UNCG ahead big, 13-1, and it never got close as Wofford dropped the third by 15.
 
Wofford saw a lead early on in the fourth at 4-3, but UNCG went on a 7-1 run to grab a 10-5 advantage and carry it the rest of the way. The Terriers fought to get the score within two at 10-8, and then seven of the next nine were given to the home side for a commanding 17-10 advantage. Wofford only ever got back to within four, 19-15, and dropped the fourth by eight, hitting -.023 in the set.
 
The Wofford volleyball team has another crucial Southern Conference matchup on Saturday, making the short trip from Greensboro to Elon, N.C., to take on the Phoenix (14-11, 5-4 SoCon). First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
Terrier Notes
- Wofford moves down from a tie for fifth into seventh place in the SoCon standings.
- Amanda Liguori posted her 14th double-figure kill match of the season.
- Wendy Burnett went for double-figure kills for the 10th time this season.
- UNCG improves to 20-9 all-time against the Terriers.