SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Thanks to record performances by Catie Cronister and Lorissa King, and a lot of grit by the entire team, the Wofford volleyball team won a five set thriller over UNCG on Friday night in Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. With the win, Wofford improves to 13-6 overall and 3-2 in Southern Conference action, while UNCG falls to 9-8 on the season and 2-3 in conference play.
 
After losing the opening match of the season 2-3 to George Washington, Wofford has won three five set matches in a row to hold a 3-1 mark in such contests.

Also, UNCG had won the last 18 matchups entering tonight. Prior to tonight's thrilling win, Wofford last beat the Spartans on Nov. 6, 2005, just short of 12 years ago.
 
All five sets were extremely close. Wofford won the opening set 25-23 to take the lead but UNCG took the second set 25-22 to tie the match at one set apiece. UNCG won the third set 25-23 to go up 2-1 but the Terriers rallied back to win the fourth and fifth sets, 25-23 and 15-11, respectively.
 
"I'm really proud that we battled back after being down 1-2," said head coach Lynze Roos. "We made some great service runs and kept the pressure on UNCG. Catie (Cronister) delivered at some key moments, both offensively and defensively. Lorissa (King) found a way to allow her to score when we needed a lift."
 
Cronister led Wofford with 30 kills, a career high and third all-time in the Wofford record books for kills in a five set match, and 20 digs. The double-double is her sixth of the season and second in a row. The sophomore from Chicago hit .262 in the win.
 
Colleen Reilly added 10 kills and led the team with six blocks. Kelly Bossert contributed nine kills and hit a team high .400 on the night. Kara Shacklette and Bijonae Jones followed with eight kills apiece. Taylor Gill tallied 21 digs, four assists and an ace to turn in a strong performance from the back row. King added a career high 56 assists to lead all players.
 
"It truly was a team effort with players stepping up at big moments," said Roos.
 
Wofford won despite being outhit by the Spartans. UNCG hit .223 and Wofford hit .214. The difference came in the fourth and fifth sets when Wofford hit .212 and .348 while holding UNCG to .100 and .182 in those sets, respectively. Wofford also recorded a season high 11 blocks that often came opportune times and swung momentum in favor of the Terriers.
 
Wofford held Ashley Muench, one of the top hitters in the conference, to just 13 kills and a .158 hitting percentage, which proved to make a big difference in the match.
 
Teams swapped points in all five sets.  The first set was back and forth, with three being the largest lead. Tied 23-23, Wofford sided out on a kill from Bossert and got a kill from King, the setter, to take the final two points and win the set. The second set favored UNCG as the Spartans led by as many as nine multiple times. Down 12-21, Wofford used a 7-0 run behind the serving of Jones to cut the Spartans' lead to 21-19, but UNCG hung on to win the set 25-22.
 
The third set, again, was closely contested. Wofford led 12-7 and 17-12 in the contest and forced a UNCG timeout both times. The second timeout worked and UNCG began to claw their way back in. Down 22-18, the Spartans closed the set on a 7-3 run to win the set and go up 2-1 in the match.

The fourth set was back and forth. Tied 12-12, UNCG went on a 7-0 run to take a 19-13 lead and force a Wofford timeout. Wofford's timeout worked as the Terriers tied it at 21 and then used a 4-1 run to seal the deal and tie the match.
 
The score was tied four times, all early on, but Wofford never trailed in the fifth set and won 15-11.
 
Wofford is three matches in to a six match homestand. The Terriers continue play inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. against Western Carolina.