MACON, Ga. – The Wofford volleyball team used its highest attacking percentage of the season to overpower Mercer in three sets (25-14, 25-14, 25-20), Saturday afternoon in Southern Conference action at Hawkins Arena.
 
The Terriers hit .380 and put down 44 kills. Wofford's hitting percentage more than tripled Mercer's mark of .104 and Wofford's kill count nearly doubled the 24 from the Bears.
 
The offensive outburst was headed by senior Taylor Baird, who led all players with 12 kills and hit an impressive .391. Freshman Bella Santoro joined Baird in double figures with 11 kills (.333) and added three blocks.
 
A pair of freshmen in Danni Densford and Alex Holland went for eight kills apiece. More noteworthy, Densford hit a blistering, match-high .583 and Holland came in at .462, which led all players. For Densford – the Southern Conference leader in attack percentage heading into the day (.354) – it marked the middle's sixth match of the season of .500 or better. Meanwhile, Holland, an outside hitter, posted her third outing of .400 or more.
 
"Overall, I could not be happier with how we played on offense," second-year head coach Ron Sweet said. "You just don't see those kinds of hitting numbers at this level. Mercer is a good team and we played well and stuck to our game plan. It was good for this team to go on the road and get a conference win."
 
Wofford (9-10, 2-1 SoCon) also outplayed Mercer (4-11, 1-2 SoCon) on the defensive side in the first ever Southern Conference meeting between the two schools. The Terriers outblocked the Bears 9-7 and came up with 11 more digs (31-20). Densford led Wofford's block with a match-high five, while Baird, Santoro and redshirt freshman Alyse High all posted three. Junior Jessica Graham went for a match-high 11 digs, which marked her 50th career match in double figures.
 
"Our defense is still not what we are capable of," Sweet added. "But I thought this was a good outing and a step in the right direction."
 
It was the first volleyball game between the two schools since 2005 and, with the win, Wofford has claimed three of the last four meetings.
 
Saturday's matinee was completely controlled by Wofford from the beginning. The Terriers welcomed one of the SoCon's newest members to the league by hitting .435 in the first set. Santoro put down a set-high five kills, while Densford, Baird and Holland chimed in with three each. An 8-1 run turned a two-point Mercer lead into an 11-6 Wofford advantage. After the Bears cut the margin back to three, Wofford scored five of the next six points, including four straight, to go on top by seven. It was a runaway from there. A bad set by Mercer's Hannah Noon made it a 10-point Terrier lead for the first time at 22-12 and Holland slammed the set's final point to hand Wofford the opener.
 
The Terriers hit .280 in the second, which was their worst percentage of the match. It was still better than any hitting percentage Mercer posted all day, and certainly outdid Mercer's negative mark of -.036 in the second. Two kills by Molly Locke helped Mercer begin the set ahead 3-0, but Wofford took the lead for the first time at 10-9 and never looked back. A 5-0 run forced Mercer's first timeout with the Terriers in front 12-9. Then, a set that was separated by just two points at 14-12 got completely out of hand, as Wofford used an 11-2 run to slam the door for a two-set lead. A kill by Santoro sparked the run and Mercer committed six errors, as Wofford went into the break with a pair of 25-14 sets in its pocket.
 
The third began with three straight Terrier kills – one from High and two from Baird – but Mercer hung tough and showed the most life it had all day. The Terriers led 6-3 when the home side used its largest run of the match, 7-1, to go on top 10-7.
 
It was quickly dismissed. Kills by Baird, Santoro and two from Densford won Wofford five straight to regain a 12-10 lead and Mercer never led again; however, the set did remain close. The Bears rallied to tie the third at 17 and again at 20 on a Noon ace. That ace was the last Mercer point of the match and the Terriers closed out their second three-set win of the SoCon season with the final five points.
 
The Wofford volleyball team returns home for two Southern Conference matchups next weekend. The Terriers meet Chattanooga on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by Samford on Saturday at 3 p.m. Both matches will be streamed for free on the SoCon Digital Network.