Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Box Score (Clemson)
Box Score (William & Mary)
 
CLEMSON, S.C. – Led by a career-high 23 kills from freshman Bella Santoro and 21 from senior Taylor Baird, the Wofford volleyball team defeated William & Mary in a five-set thriller (22-25, 25-16, 26-28, 25-18, 15-11) to close out the Clemson Classic on Saturday evening inside Jervey Gym.

Wofford (3-6) trailed two sets to one after dropping a heartbreaking third in extras. Faced with needing the final two sets, the Terriers jumped ahead 15-8 in the fourth and held off a mini-rally to force their first five-set match of the season. 

In each of the first four sets, Wofford was the first team to reach 15 points. They did it again in the tiebreak, grabbing the lead for the first time at 5-4 and using a 9-3 run to take a commanding 12-6 lead. William & Mary (4-6) closed the deficit to 13-10, but junior Liz Buterbaugh put the match away with Wofford's final two kills, finishing with 11.

In all, four Terriers finished the match with double-figure kills -- freshman Danni Densford had 12 and hit .500 (12-2-20) to join Santoro, Baird and Buterbaugh. Santoro added to her day with a career-high 17 digs to post a double-double. Junior Jessica Graham had a team-high 20 digs

Meanwhile, freshman setter Molly Mayo finished the match with a season-high 69 assists -- one assist shy of the program's all-time single-game record. She added 10 digs for her first collegiate double-double.

At the conclusion of Saturday's action, Santoro was named to the Clemson Classic All-Tournament Team. She had 52 kills and averaged 4.33 kills per set on the weekend, also adding four aces.

The Terriers began the day against host Clemson, falling in three sets.

The Wofford volleyball team hosts The Spartanburg Courtyard Classic next Friday and Saturday at Benjamin Johnson Arena. Wofford will welcome Gardner-Webb, NC A&T, Tennessee Tech and USC Upstate for the five-team tournament.

Match 1 - Clemson 3 - Wofford 0 (21-25, 24-26, 14-25)

The Terriers began day two of the Clemson Classic against the host Tigers on Saturday afternoon, falling in a competitive three-set match.
 
Wofford gave Clemson a lot to handle in the first two sets. The Terriers led three different times until the Tigers went on a 4-0 run to go in front 17-14 and hold the advantage. In the second, Wofford came back from down 20-17 to level the frame at 21. The final stages of the set were tied from 21 to 24, when Clemson squeaked it out by scoring the final two points.
 
Santoro posted a season-high 17 kills with two aces to lead the Wofford attack. The Greer native led all players in kills and points (19.0), adding nine digs to wind up one shy of a double-double.
 
Mayo earned a match-high 36 assists and junior Jessica Graham went for a match-high 13 digs.
 
The Terriers were outhit .196 (40-19-107) to .374 (40-6-91) by its Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. Clemson had just six attack errors the entire match and forced 19 for Wofford. Ten of Wofford's errors came off Tiger blocks, while the Terriers were held without a block.
 
Both sides gave the Clemson crowd an offensive display in the first. The Terriers hit .300 and Clemson answered by posting a mark of .481. Santoro had six of Wofford's 14 kills and broke a 10-all tie with one of them to put the Terriers in front. Wofford's final lead of the set came from another Santoro kill, 14-13, but the Tigers scored four straight to lead 17-14 and force Wofford's first timeout. The Terriers cut the gap to as little as two at 20-18, 22-20 and 23-21, but Clemson used a block to earn set point and converted.
 
Freshman Alex Holland posted the first kill and Mayo found an ace to give the Terriers a quick 3-0 start in the second. Clemson responded, tying the set 4-4 and using a 5-0 run to go back on top 6-4. Neither side took a lead of more than three points the rest of the set. In all, there were 12 ties – the final one coming at 24 on a Santoro kill to save the set for the Terriers. Beta Dumancic followed with a kill to give the Tigers another crack at the set and setter Kate Federico attacked the first ball she saw to put Clemson in front by a pair.
 
The Terriers ran out of gas in the third. Mayo used one of her three kills to tie the set at two, but Clemson's block came alive, sparking a 10-2 run to put the home side in front 12-4. The lead extended to 10 for the first time at 18-8 and hit its largest margin at 24-12.
 
Match 2 - Wofford 3 - William & Mary 2 (22-25, 25-16, 26-28, 25-18, 15-11)

Wofford went to five sets for the first time this season in its final game of the Clemson Classic against William & Mary, defeating the Tribe 15-11 in the tiebreak in what was the first all-time meeting between the two schools.
 
Santoro reached season-highs of 23 kills and 17 digs to achieve her third double-double of the season. She also finished with match- and career-highs of 25.5 points via an ace and three block assists.
 
Santoro hit.277 to lead a group of four Terriers that finished with double-figure kills. Baird had 21 (.286), Densford had a career-high 12 (.500) and Buterbaugh posted 11. It marked the first time four Terriers finished with 10 or more kills since last Nov. 8 against Elon.
 
Wofford completed the match with 75 kills – the first time the Terriers reached 75 since 2007 against The Citadel – and outhit William & Mary .247 to .187. Mayo assisted a career-high 69 of Wofford's kills and added 10 digs for her first collegiate double-double.
 
The five-set thriller played tight from the beginning. Wofford held big leads in each of the five sets, but let the first and the third slip away.
 
The opener saw a quick timeout called by William & Mary with the Terriers out to a 9-4 lead. The lead grew to as many as six on multiple occasions, with the final half-dozen advantage coming at 17-11 off a kill by sophomore Ellie Tallman.
 
Back came the Tribe, using a 9-2 run to tie the score at 19 and taking their first lead of the set at 20-19. Santoro put down a kill to tie it back up at 20, but the Tribe scored five of the final six points to steal the first.
 
The Terriers were on fire to begin the second, scoring the first nine points with the help of three Baird kills. It gave Wofford more than enough breathing room to control the set, as William & Mary only ever got as close as seven the rest of the way. Another Baird kill and Tribe attack error put Wofford ahead by 10 at 17-7, and Densford slammed the final kill to level the match at a set apiece.
 
Again, Wofford took a big lead in the third, using an 11-3 run with kills by Baird, Santoro and Densford to go on top 12-5. Santoro pushed the Terrier lead to 18-12 when William & Mary came storming back. The Tribe scored three straight and capped a 9-3 run with a kill by Mallory Brickerd to tie the set at 21. The sides went back and forth from there with ties from 22 to 26. Santoro gave the Terriers set point with a kill to make it 26-25, but Stephanie Paul responded to save it for the Tribe. The block won the set for William & Mary as Brickerd, Paul and Carolyn Albright combined to reject consecutive attempts by Densford and Santoro.
 
After holding big leads in all three sets, the Terriers now had their backs against the wall, needing to win sets four and five to avoid going winless on the weekend. The trend of great starts continued. Buterbaugh put down a kill to make it 6-1 and Wofford grabbed a 9-2 lead off a W&M attack error. This time, as in the second, Wofford held its ground. William & Mary rallied to turn a 17-10 set into 17-15, but the Terriers responded. Back-to-back kills by Santoro stopped the comeback and Wofford re-extended its lead five at 21-16. Kills by Santoro, Densford and Holland followed, making it 24-18, and the Terriers won it when Brickerd's attack landed out of bounds.
 
The marathon reached the deciding set. Dessi Koleva gave the Tribe an early 3-1 lead, but two kills from Baird leveled the tiebreak at four. Wofford's run continued with a Santoro kill and two aces from Buterbaugh, giving the Terriers an 8-4 lead at the changeover.
 
Brickerd got the Tribe to within three at 9-6 and Wofford was given a little scare after an attack error by Holland and another Brickerd kill cut the Terrier lead back to three at 13-10. However, Wofford's middle blocker, Buterbaugh, slammed one to give Wofford match point, and she put it away with the final kill of the match.