COLUMBIA, S.C. – After dropping the first two sets to Charleston Southern, the Wofford volleyball team put on an unbelievable display of grit and determination to earn a five-set victory (17-25, 16-25, 31-29, 25-21, 15-11) Friday afternoon at the Carolina Classic, hosted by South Carolina.
 
The Terriers began the comeback by holding off CSU in a grueling third. Wofford led 24-21, only to see the Buccaneers save three straight set points and eight set points in all. Sophomore Bella Santoro finally got Wofford on the board on the ninth try to force a fourth.
 
CSU looked primed to put the match away in the fourth, using an 11-3 run to go in front 20-12. However, the Terriers put on a huge rally, scoring seven straight and ending the set on an incredible 13-1 run.
 
It brought the match to a once unthinkable fifth set, where the Terriers prevailed. Again, they came from behind to do so, erasing Charleston Southern's 6-2 lead with an 8-1 run and capping off the comeback on a dump set from sophomore Molly Mayo.
 
It marked the first time in over six years that Wofford came back from two sets down to win. The last time it had been done was September 4, 2009 at Gardner-Webb.
 
"I was very pleased with how we bounced back in the third, fourth and fifth sets," said head coach Lynze Roos. "We came out flat in the first two sets – we weren't following the game plan and making way too many unforced errors."
 
Redshirt freshman Lauren Miller led the charge, hitting .312 with a career-high 20 kills. She added 10 digs for her second collegiate double-double.
 
"She was consistent the entire match," said Roos on Miller. "She was aggressive and handled the pressure of some big swings."
 
Sophomore middle Danni Densford was also impressive with 12 kills at a .310 pace, tacking on a match-high six blocks. Mayo earned a double-double as well with 47 assists and 14 digs.
 
"Danni and Colleen [Reilly] delivered huge blocks at key times," added Roos. "Molly played some of her best volleyball in the second half of the match. She had the ability to make our offense extremely efficient."
 
Senior libero Jessica Graham went for a season-high 27 digs. In doing so, she became the second Terrier in history to eclipse 1,500 career digs. The Goose Creek, S.C., native is 129 back of the program record held by Reagan Styles '13 of 1,631 digs.
 
Perhaps Wofford's biggest advantage was in the service game, tallying 10 aces to just seven errors and receiving Charleston Southern's serves at a .961 percentage. Meanwhile, CSU had just four aces to six errors, receiving at a much lower percentage of .895.
 
The opening set got away early. Leading 8-7, the Terriers gave up six straight points that started a 10-2 CSU run. Wofford spent both of its timeouts in an effort to extinguish the run, but could not sustain any momentum. The Bucs extended their lead to as many as 10 before an Alex Holland run of serve brought the set to as close at five, but it was too much to overcome as the Buccaneers outhit the Terriers .304 to .085 to take the opener.
 
It was more of the same in the second as Wofford held another early advantage before Charleston Southern put together another big run to put the set out of reach. The Terriers were in front 5-3 when the Bucs scored three straight and six of the next seven. Coach Roos called time with her team down 12-8 and was forced to burn the other just seven points later with CSU leading 17-10. The deficit grew to as many as nine with Wofford committing 10 attack errors and hitting -.036 to fall down by two sets.
 
It all began to turn around in the third. Wofford's offense became extremely efficient, earning 14 of its first 15 points via the kill. Still, CSU made the Terriers work, committing very few attack errors to hold a 20-18 lead. Wofford climbed back to tie the set at 21 and scored three straight with the help of Miller and Reilly kills. It gave the Terriers their first three shots at the set, but CSU did not make it easy. After saving eight set points, the Bucs finally caved on back-to-back kills by Santoro and Miller.
 
The offense cooled down in the fourth and CSU took advantage by jumping in front 20-12. After a CSU serve error brought the ball back to Wofford's side of the net, Graham went back and served the next seven points. The run included kills by Densford and Santoro, as well as a Graham ace. By the time the Bucs brought the serve back to their side, Wofford had cut the deficit to just one point. The Terriers sided out immediately on another Santoro kill and Miller served the next five points, finding the floor with two aces to tie the match at two sets apiece.
 
Charleston Southern scored six of the first eight points to begin the fifth, but it was all Wofford from there. The Terriers outhit CSU .250 to .105 in the tiebreak, blocking three Buccaneer attacks, including back-to-back rejections to take a 10-8 lead. Wofford's final three points all came via the kill, as Densford slammed the 13th and 14th before Mayo's dump set snuck through to complete a terrific comeback.
 
The Terriers play two more in the Carolina Classic on Saturday. Their first match is at 10 a.m., against East Carolina, followed by a 7 p.m., nightcap against host South Carolina. Fans can watch the Terrier and Gamecocks on the SEC Network Plus/Watch ESPN.
 
Terrier Notes:
- Wofford earned its first win after trailing by two sets since Sept. 4, 2009 at Gardner-Webb.
- Lauren Miller recorded career-highs of 20 kills and 25.0 points. She also earned her second collegiate double-double.
- Molly Mayo recorded her team-leading fifth double-double of the season.
- Five Terriers recorded double-figure digs for the second time this season. Prior to this year, it hadn't happened since 2012.