Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Box Score vs. Coastal (pdf)

Box Score vs. Youngstown State (pdf)

CONWAY, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team took both Coastal Carolina and Youngstown State to five sets Saturday at the final day of the Chanticleer Invitational, but came up short each time to begin the 2013 campaign 0-3 from CCU's HTC Center.
 
Saving three set points to take the third set of its morning matchup against the host Chanticleers, Wofford led 2-1 but dropped sets four and five to hand Coastal (1-1) its first win of the season (15-25, 25-18, 25-27, 25-20, 15-10). In the later matchup, the Terriers took the first two sets from Youngstown State (2-1) and led 20-18 in the third, but saw the final three slip away. The fifth and deciding set was level at 13 apiece before Youngstown scored the final two points to win (15-25, 18-25, 25-21, 25-16, 15-13).
 
"I was proud of our effort this weekend," Wofford first-year head coach Ron Sweet said. "I felt we put up a fight in every match. Obviously, it is frustrating to not come out with a victory, especially considering the effort we put in during every match. We just need to learn how to close out matches and take the positives from what we accomplished in this tournament."
 
Despite the losses, junior Taylor Baird had a career day. The Blythewood, S.C., native eclipsed her career-highs in both kills and digs during each match and posted her first two collegiate double-doubles. Baird had 17 kills and 15 digs against the Chanticleers, following that up with 19 kills and 11 digs against the Penguins – her previous highs were 12 kills and eight digs.
 
"When she was on, she was unstoppable," Sweet commented about Baird. "She can become an all-conference player if she can just keep that intensity through the whole match."
 
Sophomore Jessica Graham also posted a career-high, digging out 18 balls against Youngstown to eclipse her old mark by one. Graham added 14 digs against Coastal to finish the day with 32.
 
Senior Amanda Liguori had double-doubles in each match. Liguori put down a match-high 20 kills and 15 digs against CCU, followed by 14 kills and 11 digs against YSU. Senior setter Bekah Dorsey dished out 50 assists in the morning session and 47 in the afternoon, marking a double-double against Youngstown with 11 digs.

The Wofford volleyball team is back in action on Friday, beginning play at the USC Upstate Invitational.
 
Match Recap: Coastal Carolina 3 – Wofford 2
 
Wofford took momentum by saving three set points to win the third set and take a 2-1 lead, but Coastal Carolina would not be denied its first win. The Chanticleers rallied to victory on their home court by taking the final two sets and Wofford suffered its second five-set loss of the season.
 
Liguori had a match-high 20 kills and hit .255 (20-6-55), adding 15 digs for her second double-double of the season. Meanwhile, Baird had a career-high 17 kills and 15 digs to post the first double-double of her collegiate career. Dorsey led all players with 50 assists, coming up one dig shy of her double-double. Sophomore Jessica Graham contributed with 14 digs and two aces, while senior Wendy Burnett and freshman Elizabeth Ouzts had nine and eight kills, respectively.
 
The Terriers came out hot hitting at a .344 clip (15-4-32) in the opening set. With the score 8-6, Wofford took eight of the next nine points for a commanding 16-7 advantage on the way to a first set victory. The third set saw Wofford put together its most kills of the match, notching 16 to hit .286. Trailing 24-21, Wofford won the next three points to save the set and eventually found itself tied 25-all. An attack error setup set point, and Ouzts slammed down a kill to put the Terriers ahead 2-1. Dorsey assisted 15 of the 16 set kills, and Baird led all Terriers with five kills.
 
Unfortunately, the first win of the season would not come to fruition. Coastal took advantage of Wofford hitting .250 and .160 in the final two sets, respectively, and hit .400 in the fourth and .529 in the last to take the match.
 
Match Recap: Youngstown 3 – Wofford 2
 
Wofford won the first two sets by a combined 17 points, but could not close out the match as Youngstown State rallied from behind for the third set and took the final three sets for the win.
 
After posting a career-high 17 kills against Coastal, Baird one-upped herself by slamming down a match-high 19 kills. She added 11 digs for her second double-double of the day. Liguori went for 14 kills and 11 digs for her double-double, and Dorsey had 47 assists and 11 digs for hers. Graham dug 18 balls, eclipsing her career-high of 17.
 
It was not enough as Wofford let a 20-18 third-set lead slip away, and hit -.111 with 13 attack errors in the fourth set. The fifth only saw the Terriers hit at a .130 attack percentage.
 
Wofford led all the way through the opening set of the afternoon session. Wofford put the first three points on the board and Baird paced the Terriers with six kills and three digs while hitting .714 (6-1-7) to lead the attack. As a team, the Terriers hit .323 in the first set, outhitting Youngstown's mark of .172, and cruising to a 10-point set win.
 
Baird was back at it in the second set, adding five more kills and upping her hitting percentage to .769 (11-1-13). The effort helped Wofford go on a 14-5 run to take a 20-10 lead, coasting to a second set victory of 25-18. The Terriers were on fire with their serve, putting up seven aces in the set to make it 11 for the match with just two errors.
 
It fell apart in the third. Wofford led 20-18 and looked to be on its way to its first win of the season, but Youngstown State called timeout and ended the set on a 7-1 run to take it 25-21. The Penguins rode that momentum through a dominating nine-point win in the fourth, and etched out the fifth and deciding set.
 
Terrier Notes
 - Junior Taylor Baird posted a career-high 19 kills against Youngstown State and a career-high 15 digs against Coastal Carolina
 - Sophomore Jessica Graham posted a career-high 18 digs against Youngstown State
 - Wofford drops to 0-5 all-time against Coastal Carolina, and 1-1 against Youngstown St.
 -  All three of Wofford's losses this season of come in five-set matches