ATHENS, Ga. – A career day for Alex Holland could not lift the Wofford volleyball team to victory in either of its two matches on Saturday, as the Terriers fell to Memphis in three and High Point in five on the final day of the Benson Hospitality Invitational.
 
Holland struck for 15 kills and hit .379 in a three-set defeat to Memphis (20-25, 10-25, 20-25). In the nightcap, she chalked up a career-high 22 kills and hit .476, shattering her previous career-high of 16.
 
However, Wofford (0-3) could not get over the hump. Ahead two sets, the Terriers were presented with double match point at 24-22 in the third. A High Point kill and three straight Wofford errors helped the Panthers storm back, claiming the last four points of the third to steal the set, 26-24.
 
The Terriers still needed just one of the final two sets to earn their first victory of the year, but could not find it. High Point (1-2) jumped out to large leads of 10-5 and 20-11 to run away with the fourth. In the deciding fifth, the only Terrier lead came after the set's first point. HPU ran off the next five and Wofford never led again, succumbing to defeat on Camryn Freiberg's 10th kill of the match (25-18, 25-23, 24-26, 16-25, 10-15).
 
"Obviously, we did not get the result we wanted, but I saw some good things," said first-year head coach Lynze Roos. "The team was put in pressure situations that we can learn from so that when SoCon season comes around we are ready for it. If you learn from these types of things, it's not a total loss."
 
Holland totaled 37 kills and hit .437 on the day. For the tournament, she hit .337 with 44 kills, averaging 3.67 kills per set to land on the Benson Hospitality Invitational All-Tournament Team.
 
 
"We got better as the weekend went on, which is the goal of these preseason tournaments," added Roos. "We improved our hitting percentage every match and I was really pleased with Alex. She really showed she could attack against some big blocks and really hold her own. I was impressed with her consistency through the entire weekend."
 
Despite the outcome, Wofford accomplished something that had not been done in three years. Five Terriers finished the match with double-figure digs, led by senior libero Jessica Graham's 15. It marked the first time Wofford had five in double-figure digs since Oct. 19, 2012 in a five-set loss to Elon. Sophomore Bella Santoro had 10 digs to complete a double-double with 10 kills and sophomore Molly Mayo had 12 digs to complete a double-double with a match-high 43 assists. Freshmen Lauren Miller and Reagan Petty had 13 and 11 digs, respectively.
 
Freshman Colleen Reilly showed what she could do on the block. In just her third match of her collegiate career, Reilly posted nine rejections, tying for the No. 10 spot in school history. Miller went for six in what was only the third match of her career, as well, as the Terriers outblocked High Point 12-7.
 
The Terriers return to action on Wednesday, making the short trip down I-26 to Clinton, S.C., to take on Presbyterian. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Templeton Center.

Terrier Notes:
- Sophomore Alex Holland notched a career-high 22 kills against High Point. Her previous high was 16, which she posted twice as a freshman.
- Sophomore Bella Santoro earned a career-high four blocks against Memphis.
- Freshman Colleen Reilly had nine blocks against High Point, landing No. 10 in school history for blocks in a match.
- Five Terriers recorded double-figure digs against High Point (Graham 15, Miller 13, Mayo 12, Petty 11, Santoro 10). It marked the first such occasion since Oct. 19, 2012
In a five-set win against The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.
- Sophomores Molly Mayo and Bella Santoro earned their first double-doubles of the season against High Point.
- Wofford lost a match after winning the first two sets for the first time since Sept. 19 of last year to USC Upstate.
- Wofford fell to 0-2 in the all-time series with Memphis. The last time the two teams met was 2003.
- Wofford fell to 5-7 in the all-time series with High Point.
 
Morning Recap: Memphis 3 – Wofford 0 (20-25, 10-25, 20-25)
Holland blasted a match-high 15 kills and hit .379, however, she was the only player that gave Memphis any trouble. The rest of the team hit a combined -.079 as the Tigers swept the Terriers in Wofford's first of first of two matches Saturday at the Benson Hospitality Invitational.
 
Holland was hot from the start, striking for six kills in the first set. She kept Wofford in a tight opening set and added seven kills in the third, but the sophomore's effort was not enough alone. Memphis found its way around, outhitting Wofford .226 to .068 to secure the victory.
 
Wofford (0-2) outdueled Memphis (2-0) for most of the individual superlatives. Sophomore Molly Mayo set for a match-high 22 assists and classmate Bella Santoro had a match-high four blocks. On the ground, senior Jessica Graham went for 12 digs, which was one shy of Memphis' Mady Ruhlman's match-high 13.
 
Memphis took advantage on the attack and on serve, tallying 12 aces to Wofford's one. Each team had five blocks.
 
On the Tiger attack, it was right side hitter McKenzie Hayes who led the way with nine kills at a .400 clip. Outsides Catlin Lilly and Oluchi Agomuo had seven and six kills, respectively.
 
Memphis jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the opening set. Wofford was able to climb back with the next three points, capped by a loud block by Santoro and sophomore Danni Densford.
 
Holland caught fire to help the Terriers bring the set to its first tie. She claimed three straight Wofford points on kills to bring the deficit to one. Santoro then got up for a block solo to tie the set at 12 halfway through.
 
Wofford couldn't control its errors and Memphis took advantage to regain a three-point lead. Holland rallied the Terriers back within two at 22-20, but it was as close as it got. The Tigers took the next three points, earning the final two on a pair of Hayes kills.
 
Memphis jumped out to an early lead once again in the second, but this time the Terriers were unable to respond. The Tigers went up 10-3 before Coach Roos had seen enough and called time. Memphis did not slow down, earning back-to-back aces out of the stoppage and running away with it by 15.
 
Wofford fell behind early again in set three. Memphis was ahead 5-1 and then 10-4 before the Terriers began to rally. Holland lit back up with three straight Wofford points and freshman Colleen Reilly came alive with the next. It sparked a 9-6 spurt that got Wofford within three, 16-13.
 
Once more, Memphis widened the gap. The Tigers took the next two points and earned match point at 24-19, watching a Mayo serve sail too far for the clincher.