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Tournament Central
 
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team hosted day one of The Spartanburg Courtyard Classic on Friday at Benjamin Johnson Arena, earning a three-set sweep over Tennessee Tech before dropping a rough five-setter to USC Upstate.
 
Wofford (4-7) won its most lopsided set of the season in what was the team's home opener against Tennessee Tech (4-9). The Terriers won the first set 25-12 and cruised to a three-set victory (25-12, 25-23, 25-21), led by freshman Danni Densford's 11 kills and .667 attack percentage (11-1-15). Freshman Alex Holland also blasted 11 and hit an impressive .474, while senior Taylor Baird led the match with 13 kills, hitting .154.
 
Wofford and USC Upstate (7-5) put on a show In front of a great turnout of students Spartanburg-area fans for the nightcap. The Terriers won the first two sets, each by scores of 25-21, but could not finish the match. Upstate won a close third by three and grabbed all of the momentum, completing the comeback in five (25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 19-25, 12-15).
 
Bella Santoro – the reigning Southern Conference Freshman of the Week – tied a career-high with 23 kills against the Spartans. She had 14 digs to earn her second straight double-double and fourth of the season and was joined in double figures by Baird's 14 kills and 13 from Holland. Freshman Molly Mayo had an impressive 62 assists, while four Terriers reached double-figure digs, led by junior Jessica Graham's season-high 30.
 
The Terriers will look to rebound from the tough loss with two matches on Saturday. Wofford's day gets started at 12:30 p.m., against NC A&T (0-13), followed by the final match of the tournament, scheduled for 8 p.m., against Gardner-Webb (4-9).
 
Match 1: Wofford 3 – Tennessee Tech 0 (25-12, 25-23, 25-21)
Densford, Holland Dominant in Sweep of Tennessee Tech

Densford and Holland posted 11 kills apiece to lead Wofford to a three-set victory in its first ever meeting with Tennessee Tech.
 
Densford played the role of closer, hitting an error-free .875 with seven kills in the final set. Holland did most of her damage early, going for five kills in the first. The freshmen duo combined to .559 (22-3-34) on the afternoon.
 
Baird registered a match-high 13 kills and hit .154. Mayo finished with a match-high 37 assists and junior Jessica Graham earned a match-high 19 digs.
 
Wofford dominated the opening set thanks to five kills apiece from Holland and Baird. Tied at two, the Terriers scored nine of the next 11 points to go on top 13-4 and never looked back. Holland finished the set with her fifth and final kill.
 
Tennessee Tech responded in the second, tying the set nine times and leading 23-20 in the late stages. Wofford answered with the final five points, getting kills from junior Liz Buterbaugh and Baird before scoring set point with an ace off the hand of sophomore Ellie Tallman.
 
The third played close but Densford was too overpowering for the Golden Eagles. The middle hitter tallied a set-high seven kills on eight attempts and put the Terriers in front 16-10. The Golden Eagles used a 5-1 run to cut the margin to just two, but it was as close as they would get. Wofford went on to score five of the next six and open up a 22-17 lead to earn the sweep on Baird's 13th and final kill of the match.
 
Match 2: USC Upstate 3 – Wofford 2 (25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 19-25, 12-15)
Upstate Rallies to Leave Terriers Heartbroken in Five

USC Upstate showed its experience by coming back from two sets down to roll off the third, fourth and fifth sets and defeat Wofford inside Benjamin Johnson Arena for the first time since September of 1993.
 
The team of four junior starters kept its cool after dropping back-to-back 25-21 decisions in sets one and two. In fact, USC Upstate never trailed in any set the rest of the match. The Spartans led wire-to-wire for a 25-22 win in set three, and Wofford only ever managed to tie a few times in the fourth and fifth.
 
The tiebreak was level at 6-6 when Upstate rolled off five straight to grab an 11-6 advantage. The Terriers then scored five of the next six points to get within one, 12-11, on Santoro's 22nd kill of the match, but Upstate responded with kills by Shannon Weiss and Emily Koelling to earn three match points at 14-11. Santoro's 23rd kill followed to save the first match point, but the freshman was then put in a pressure situation and served the final point of the 2 hour, 7 minute affair into the net.
 
When all was said and done, three Terriers had finished in double-figure kills and four earned double-figure digs. Wofford outplayed Upstate in nearly every statistical category, but fell victim to itself with 16 service errors, which ultimately cost it the match.
 
Wofford was rolling to begin the tournament's final match of the day. After a few early ties and lead changes, the Terriers scored five straight to go in front 12-8, forcing an Upstate timeout and never trailing the rest of the set. Santoro had a set-high seven kills and the Terriers were good on offense, earning 19 of their 25 points with kills and hitting .234 for a comfortable four-point win.
 
Upstate took the first significant lead of the second. After neither side led by more than two through the first half of the set, the Spartans took the first three-point lead at 17-14 with one of Weiss's team-high 12 kills. The Terriers came right back after a timeout, getting five straight points with the help of a Santoro kill and four Spartan errors to lead 19-17. Weiss then got Upstate back to within a point on an ace at 21-20, but Wofford ended the set on a 4-1 run, closing it out with a Baird kill and an ace from Buterbaugh.
 
It all fell apart. Despite Upstate hitting just .121 in the third set, Wofford was never able to grab a lead. Ten of the team's 16 service errors came through the final three sets, including five to begin the unraveling in the third. Every time the Terriers started to sniff any sort of momentum, Upstate shut the door. The Spartan fans in attendance got behind the comeback and it made for a competitive atmosphere, which ultimately saw Upstate walk away victorious.