Box Score Box Score (pdf)WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Wofford and Presbyterian met on the volleyball court for the first time in 20 years on Friday and the Terriers fell in four sets (25-19, 17-25, 26-28, 21-25) on day one of the Deacon Invitational, hosted by Wake Forest.
The third set was the big momentum shifter. After splitting the first two, Wofford and Presbyterian were tied at 22 in set three. Freshman Alex Holland earned a kill and a block in succession to put the Terriers up 24-22 and Presbyterian called time facing two set points.
Out of the stoppage, the Blue Hose rattled off three straight to turn the tables and lead 25-24. Wofford senior Taylor Baird went on to save the set twice with kills to level the score at 25 and 26, but PC's Ashton Stewart stepped up to put it away. Stewart put down back-to-back kills, winning Presbyterian the set and, ultimately, the match.
Wofford (1-3) did not look the same after winning a convincing first set. The Terriers hit .294 in the opener and never trailed after going in front 5-4 early on. In sets two, three and four combined, Wofford struggled to a .131 hitting percentage, including a flat line .000 (8-8-25) in the grueling third.
Baird led the Terriers with a match-high 17 kills and hit .208, adding five digs and four blocks. Freshman Bella Santoro also had more kills than any Presbyterian player with 14, earning her second collegiate double-double by going for 14 digs. Freshman Molly Mayo assisted 45 of Wofford's 53 kills in the match and came up a dig shy of a double-double, also adding three aces.
For PC, Rachel Hall had a team-high 13 kills at a non-threatening .133 clip. Stewart and Kelly Berryman did most of the damage, posting 11 kills apiece and hitting .360 and .320, respectively. Setter Ashtin Frank recorded a double-double of 35 assists and 11 digs.
The Terriers looked to be in control after the opening set of their second preseason tournament. Baird and Santoro combined to hit .316 and Wofford never trailed after taking an early 5-4 lead. It was part of a 6-0 run that saw PC burn its first timeout with Wofford in front 9-4. Leading 15-11, the Terriers scored five straight to extend their first-set lead to 10. Santoro, Baird and junior Liz Buterbaugh all had kills during the run, which was capped by sophomore Ellie Tallman's lone ace of the match.
Though it won the opener without any major problems, Wofford hiccupped for the first time at the very end of the set. The Terriers led 24-15 and let Presbyterian score four straight before finally putting the set away on one of freshman Danni Densford's five kills.
That late-set faltering seemed to carry over into the second. After Baird went for consecutive kills to tie the set at four in the beginning stages, Presbyterian rolled off a 4-0 spurt to go on top 8-4. The Terriers never got level the rest of the way. Santoro got Wofford within a point at 9-8, but PC regained its four-point advantage right away. Holland checked into the match for the first time with Wofford down 14-9 and earned a block the first time she touched the ball, but the Terriers never really took off. PC carried its five-point lead the majority of the way and used one final 4-0 run to lead 24-15, closing out the set by eight.
The third played close and had lots of momentum swings. Holland slammed consecutive kills to give the Terriers the first significant lead of the set at 12-8. Back came Presbyterian, burning one of Coach Sweet's timeouts through a 7-0 run and going on top 15-12. Wofford responded with the next five points. Baird and Santoro each found a kill and Wofford was back on top 17-15. The set then saw ties at 18, 20, 21 and 22. Holland helped Wofford earn two chances at the set and a crucial 2-1 lead in the match, but kills by Berryman and Hall kept the Blue Hose alive, eventually outlasting Wofford 28-26.
Losing such a vital set took a toll on the young squad. Though Wofford scored the first two points of the fourth, Presbyterian used an early 7-1 run to deflate the Terriers once more. Wofford got back within two on another of Holland's kills at 10-8, but the biggest run of the match followed for PC, scoring 11 of the next 12 points for a commanding 21-9 stranglehold. Presbyterian was doing everything right through the run, finding holes in the Terrier defense on kills, earning aces, earning blocks and seemingly digging up every attack Wofford threw at them.
Though a comeback seemed like an impossible task, Wofford did not go down quietly. The Terriers answered PC's run with their biggest run of the match, scoring 10 of 11 points, including six straight to come all the way back to down just three, 22-19. After another mini-spurt of Baird kills, Wofford got as close as two, trailing just 23-21. However, Presbyterian held its ground as Hall answered with a kill and Halle Tripp caught the back line on the last of her five kills to win the match.
The Wofford volleyball team will look to bounce back quickly, taking on NC Central and tournament host Wake Forest tomorrow. The NCCU match is slated for 3 p.m., followed by the tournament finale against the Demon Deacons at 7 p.m. The game against Wake can be watched online by logging onto WakeForestSports.com.
