CLEMSON, S.C. – In its four prior meetings against Clemson, the Wofford volleyball team had never won a single set. Four times the Terriers and Tigers had squared off since 2002, and all four times Clemson came away with a 3-0 sweep.
 
Saturday night's fifth meeting was much different. Not only did Wofford – a team with eight freshmen, five of which started – win a set, they came back from 22-19 down in the third to take a two-sets-to-one lead in front of over 1,100 fans at Jervey Gym.
 
Then, in the fourth, the Terriers put the Tigers square on their backs. After erasing another 22-19 deficit, Wofford went up 24-23 and Clemson called timeout staring down the wrong end of match point on its home floor. The Tigers saved the first to tie the score at 24, but Wofford earned a second match point, which Clemson also saved. Tied at 25, Lauren Miller and Danni Densford blocked Kailey Harvell to give the Terriers a 26-25 advantage and a third opportunity at the match.
 
This time, Harvell found the floor with her attack to tie the set. Megan McGinley followed with a kill to turn the tide back in favor of the Tigers, and they won the next point to force a fifth set, 29-27.
 
Clemson called its first timeout of the final set when Wofford freshmen Kelly Bossert and Catie Cronister put down back-to-back kills to tie the score at 10. The stoppage worked, as the Tigers scored the next two points and did not trail again, squeaking out a five-set win and denying the Terriers (1-2) what would have been their first power conference win since Ole Miss in 2012 (19-25, 25-22, 30-28, 27-29, 12-15).
 
"It was a great atmosphere for our team to play in, especially being so young," commented head coach Lynze Roos. "Clemson really challenged us. They made some adjustments after that third set and I saw some good things out of our underclassmen. More than anything, I'm really proud of the way that we battled. When we made Clemson have to earn their points, we put ourselves in a good spot. For a first weekend with such a young team, I thought they handled the pressure well."
 
The freshmen provided all the highlights for Wofford. Catie Cronister slammed a team-high 19 kills and recorded her first collegiate double-double by adding 11 digs. Kelly Bossert provided the assistance with a season-high 17 kills and a .538 attack percentage. Meanwhile, libero Madeline Savage collected a season-high 19 digs and setters Lorissa King and M.E. Eberhardt combined for 49 assists.
 
Aside from those five freshmen, sophomore Bijonae Jones posted her second double-double of the day by notching 10 kills and a career-high 17 digs. Jones had 14 kills and 13 digs earlier in the day to lead Wofford to its five-set win against William & Mary.
 
For Clemson (2-1), Leah Perri recorded a match-high 22 kills (.263). The Tiger attack also saw Megan McGinley earn 16 kills (.462) and Kailey Harvell earn 15 (.205). Keely Hayes set the whole way and delivered a match-high 66 assists. Clemson finished the match hitting .267 to outpace Wofford's mark of .163.
 
"We're going to be a team that lives and dies by our ball control," Roos added. "When we're passing well and being aggressive, we will get good looks. In the fourth set, we got a little tight and weren't passing in a way that gave us the best opportunity to score."
 
Wofford heads to Boone, N.C., next weekend for the Gold and Black Invitational, hosted by Appalachian State. The Terriers will take on Ohio on Friday at 4:30 p.m., followed by a Saturday doubleheader against Appalachian State and UNC Wilmington.