CENTRE, Ala. – Led by the play of sophomore middle Danni Densford and freshman middle Colleen Reilly, the Wofford volleyball team came away with two victories on Friday at the JSU Gamecock Invitational, defeating UL-Monroe in four sets and host Jacksonville State in three.
 
After combining for 24 kills and hitting .500 in the early match, Wofford's starting middles went for a combined 20 kills at another impressive pace of .349 in the nightcap. For the day, Densford and Reilly picked up 44 of the team's 96 kills while hitting a scorching.420.
 
The pair of wins makes it three straight for Wofford (3-3), also defeating Presbyterian on Wednesday in Clinton.
 
"We raised our level of play and energy to deliver a performance I hadn't seen before today," said head coach Lynze Roos. "We played some good competition. ULM and Jacksonville State had some very tall, athletic players, but a big credit to our passing. Bella [Santoro] and Jess [Graham] did a fantastic job holding down the backcourt and put us in a position where our middles could be extremely effective."
 
Sophomore Bella Santoro and senior libero Jessica Graham posted double-figure digs in each match. Graham totaled 16 against both ULM and JSU, moving her career total to 1,391, which ties Sarah Palmer (2006-09) for third all-time.
 
Sophomore setter Molly Mayo led all players in assists in each match. The Oak Lawn, Illinois native had 41 in the four-setter, followed by 37 in the three-setter, averaging 11.1 assists per set on the day.
 
Sophomore DS Reagan Petty went for eight and six digs, respectively. Coach Roos was particularly happy with the newcomer's performance against Jacksonville State, calling it "the best match she's played in a Wofford jersey."
 
The Terriers play two more on Saturday at the Gamecock Invitational, beginning with Alcorn State at 10 a.m. ET and ending with Alabama A&M at 5:30 p.m. ET.
 
"We showed that we are a good team and can play at a high level," added Roos. "Tomorrow we just have to play our game, play with confidence and stay focused on getting the win."
 
Match 1 Recap: Wofford 3 – UL-Monroe 1 (19-25, 25-15, 25-21, 26-24)
Middles Colleen Reilly and Danni Densford combined to hit .500 with 24 kills, leading the Wofford volleyball team to a come-from-behind, four-set victory over UL-Monroe (19-25, 25-15, 25-21, 26-24). It was the first of two for the Terriers on Friday at the Gamecock Invitational, hosted by Jacksonville State inside Cherokee Arena.
 
Wofford (2-3) bounced back from a rough end to the first set by scoring nine unanswered points to take control of the second set. The Terriers rallied from behind in sets three and four, scoring the final eight points of the third and the final six points of the fourth. In the last, Wofford trailed 24-20 and saved four set points on redshirt freshman Lauren Miller's serve. An ace put Wofford up 25-24 and the Terriers closed it out for a second straight win.
 
"We really developed and grew as a team in this match," said head coach Lynze Roos. "We faced some adversity and I'm proud of how this team answered. Lauren [Miller] put together a great run of serve when ULM had set point in the fourth."
 
Freshman Reilly led the Wofford attack with a team-high 13 kills at a scorching .550 pace. Densford, a sophomore, joined her in double figures with 11 kills and hit an impressive .444. Meanwhile, sophomores Bella Santoro and Molly Mayo each recorded a double-double. Santoro earned hers with 12 kills on the outside and 14 digs, while Mayo set for a match-high 41 assists on Wofford's 50 kills, adding a career-high 14 digs.
 
"Molly did a great job of finding our middles in transition," Coach Roos added. "Danni ran a great, fast-paced slide and we were able to locate her well. Colleen did a great job of being physical, getting up and making herself a factor."
 
On the ground, senior libero Jessica Graham registered a team-high 16 digs. It bumped her career total to 1,385, which is two back of Cristy Carter (1998-01) for fourth all-time and six back of Sarah Palmer (2006-09) for third.
 
For ULM (2-3), junior outside Taylor Zaeske recorded a match-high 17 kills and junior libero Kasey Leblanc posted a match-high 26 digs. The Warhawks outblocked the Terriers 7-2 and totaled nine aces to Wofford's five.
 
After 11 ties in the opening set, ULM went on a 7-0 run to earn set point at 24-17. Zaeske was a big factor, finding two kills on the run and finishing the set with six at a .455 pace. Wofford saved the first two set points before Hope Pawlik put down the kill to win the first.
 
The Terriers were able to neutralize Zaeske in the second and the Warhawks had no answer for Densford. The Sellersburg, Indiana native put down five kills on five swings and the Terriers busted the set open with a 9-0 run to go in front 17-8, winning comfortably to level the match at a set apiece.
 
Wofford had its back against the wall in the third. Coach Roos called time with her team down 19-17 and ULM extended the lead to 21-17 off a kill and a block by Kaitlyn Shearer. However, the Terriers responded. Mayo found Reilly to stop the run and Wofford completely turned the tide, blasting four straight kills to tie the set at 21. ULM finally called time after falling behind 23-21, but it proved too late. An attack error by Swartz gave Wofford set point and Reilly put it away.
 
Again, the Terriers found a way to come back from a late deficit in the fourth. Down 24-20, a fifth set looked inevitable, but Wofford chipped away. Densford put down a kill to earn Miller the serve and the redshirt freshman delivered. ULM's Kalena Caruthers and Hope Pawlik missed on attacks and Santoro found a kill to save the next three set points, leveling the score at 24. Miller stepped back to the service line and delivered an ace to earn Wofford match point and put the pressure on the Warhawks, who committed their 10th attacking error of the set to fall in four.
 
Terrier Notes:
- Freshman Colleen Reilly posted a career-high 13 kills.
- Sophomores Bella Santoro (3) and Molly Mayo (2) each posted a double-double.
- Mayo recorded a career-high 14 digs.
- It was the first all-time meeting between Wofford and UL-Monroe.
 
Match 2 Recap: Wofford 3 – Jacksonville State 0 (25-16, 25-23, 25-17)
Wofford outhit Jacksonville State .307 to .116, posting 17 more kills, five more aces and outblocking the Gamecocks 9-4 on the way to a three-set sweep (25-16, 25-23, 25-17) on Friday night at Cherokee Arena.
 
The Terriers were only troubled in set two. Jacksonville State (3-2) called a timeout trailing 16-12 and came out of the stoppage scoring four straight to even things up. The Terriers held their lead until Jennifer Hart's ace put the home team on top for the first time all set, 20-19.
 
It didn't last long. Sophomore setter Molly Mayo found the floor with a dump set to tie the game back up at 21 and freshman Colleen Reilly slammed a kill to get the Terriers back on top. The Terriers earned set point at 24-22. JSU saved the first on a serve out of bounds by sophomore Alex Holland, but Allyson Zuhlke gave it right back, missing on her serve to give Wofford the set.
 
JSU was competitive in the third and had the set within a single point at 14-13, but Wofford pulled away. Two Gamecock errors and a Holland kill were the start to an 11-4 Terrier run that closed out the set and the match.
 
Three Terriers reached double figures as sophomores Alex Holland, Danni Densford and freshman Colleen Reilly all finished with a team-high 10 kills. Holland led all Terriers in points, topping off her night with three aces and two blocks to total 14.5. Densford hit a team-best .444.
 
Senior libero Jessica Graham totaled a match-high 16 digs to break into a tie for third in Wofford's career record book with Sarah Palmer (2006-09) at 1,391. Sophomore outside Bella Santoro also reached double figures with 10. Mayo set for a match-high 37 assists on Wofford's 46 kills.
 
At the net, Reilly and redshirt freshman Lauren Miller totaled a match-high three blocks apiece. Holland and Santoro were good for two.
 
The lone Gamecock to give Wofford any trouble on the attack was Zuhlke, who ended the night with a match-high 15 kills. She hit .379 with just four errors on 29 attempts. The rest of the JSU attack was ineffective, totaling 14 kills and 14 errors for a .000 attack percentage.
 
Terrier Notes:
- Wofford improved to 5-1 in the all-time series with Jacksonville State. It was the first series matchup not played at a neutral site and the first meeting between the two teams since 1999.
- The Terriers are on a three-match winning streak for the first time since Oct. 5-12, 2013.