ATHENS, Ga. – Wofford got Georgia's full attention in Friday night's season opener. After dropping the first set, the Terriers took a 7-6 lead in set two and never looked back, winning 25-20 to go to the intermission tied at a set apiece.
 
The upset was not in the cards. UGA controlled the third and held off the Terriers in a hard-fought fourth for the win (25-17, 20-25, 25-8, 25-18) on day one of the Benson Hospitality Invitational.
 
"I liked the way we battled, but our mentality needs to get tougher – it's something I hope to bring to this program," said Lynze Roos after her Wofford head coaching debut. "If we can be mentally tough and battle through every high and low of the match, we can surprise some people."
 
Also in her Wofford debut, freshman Colleen Reilly led the Terrier attack with eight kills. However, her .182 attack percentage led all Terriers as well, as Wofford finished at .033 (30-26-123) for the match. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs hit .302 (44-12-106) to pull away.
 
"Anytime you play a team that's bigger than you, you begin to think you have to change things," added Roos. "The reality is that we don't have to change everything about our swing. We can essentially play the same style. We just have to be faster and smarter about some things."
 
Sophomore Alex Holland had seven kills while redshirt freshman Lauren Miller totaled six. The Terriers had seven aces, six of which contributed to the second-set victory, while the Bulldogs tallied 13 with eight in the 25-8 third.
 
Senior libero Jessica Graham turned in a team-high 16 digs. Sophomore outside Bella Santoro also reached double figures with 10, and sophomore setter Molly Mayo had 26 assists, eight digs and a team-high three aces.
 
Outside hitter Amanda Dachs totaled a match-high 12 kills for UGA. Middle Desiree McCray was the most effective, striking nine kills and hitting a match-high .467.
 
Reilly and Miller each made their collegiate debut in the starting lineup. Reilly earned an early kill to help Wofford take a 5-2 first-set lead.
 
Georgia stormed back with a 14-5 run that ended with back-to-back aces, resulting in a 16-9 cushion. Sophomore Danni Densford struck for back-to-back kills late, earning three in the opening set and hitting .333, but the Terriers never got closer than five before dropping the first.
 
Densford stayed hot into the early part of set two. She opened the scoring with a kill and Mayo followed with one of her team-high three aces to earn the Terriers an early lead. After the Bulldogs went up 6-5, Wofford rolled off four straight to lead 9-6 and force UGA into its first timeout.
 
This time, the Terriers kept pushing. Another Mayo ace made 13-9 and a Densford ace gave Wofford its largest lead, 17-12, forcing Georgia into its second and final timeout of the set.
 
The Terriers bent, but did not break. UGA closed the gap to a single point multiple times, the last coming at 21-20. A Holland slam followed by Mayo's third ace of the set pushed it to 22-20, and, despite getting outhit .214 to .031, Wofford scored the final four points to level the match at a set each.
 
Georgia hit .412 to cruise through the third. The Terriers composed themselves and battled through a fourth set that saw 10 ties and three lead changes. Santoro found a kill that tied the set at 15, but Georgia found a way to put it away. The Bulldogs ended the set and the match with 10 of the final 13 points, escaping the Ramsey Center with a win.
 
Wofford returns to the Benson Hospitality Invitational at 10 a.m., Saturday when it serves up day two against Memphis. Wofford's final match of the tournament is scheduled for 4 p.m. against High Point.
 
Postgame Notes:
- Freshman Colleen Reilly and redshirt freshman Lauren Miller made their collegiate debut.
- Sophomore Reagan Petty made her Wofford debut. She transferred to the Terriers after playing at Alabama in 2014.
- Lynze Roos made her head coaching debut for Wofford.
- Wofford fell to 0-2 in the all-time series with Georgia, last playing the Bulldogs at the Ramsey Center in 2007.