SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team dropped a tough four-setter to Furman on Wednesday night in front of over 500 fans. The match was the Terriers' first conference match and the first volleyball game inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. With the loss, Wofford falls to 9-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play while Furman improves to 7-7 on the season and 1-0 in SoCon play.
 
The Terriers won the opening set 25-17, but dropped the next three 18-25, 16-25, and 19-25, respectively.
 
Twelve Terriers saw action in the match. Catie Cronister and Bijonae Jones led Wofford with 10 kills apiece. Both had 26 attempts. Kelly Bossert followed with nine kills and just two errors on 13 swings as the sophomore hit a team hit .538 in the loss. Kara Shacklette recorded eight kills and Colleen Reilly added seven.
 
Lorissa King (26) and Kristen Seibert (13) had 39 of Wofford's 48 assists. Taylor Gill led the team with 12 digs. The SoCon Defensive Player of the Week also added five assists and an ace. Jones tallied 10 digs, earning her second double-double of the season. King notched eight digs.
 
Wofford hit .148 in the match, while Furman hit .239. Jamila Johnson led Furman with 19 kills, hitting.342 on the night, and teammate Courtney Hoffman added 10 kills and eight blocks.
 
In the first set, the teams swapped points to start. With Wofford leading 10-7, the Terriers went on a 6-1 tear to stretch the lead to 16-8. The deficit was too much for the Paladins to overcome, and Wofford won the set handily, 25-17.
 
Wofford's momentum from set one quickly turned Furman's way in the second set. The Paladins came alive to take a 9-3 lead. Wofford chipped away at the lead, cutting it to two at 16-14 but Furman closed the set on a 9-4 run and evened the match at one apiece.
 
Out of the break, the teams were neck and neck to start the third set. Furman lead 14-13 and went on an 11-3 run, including five in a row to end the set, and took the lead in the match.
 
The fourth set was full of long runs for both teams. Down 3-2, Furman setter Hunter Johnson served the Paladins to five straight points and a 7-3 lead and forced Wofford head coach Lynze Roos to use an early timeout. The timeout worked, as Johnson had a service error on the first play out of the break.
 
After an attack error by King, Furman led 7-4 and used an 8-0 run, led by Johnson at the service line, to extend the lead to 14-4. The Paladins led 17-10 and Wofford used a 9-2 run to tie it at 19 all, but Furman again used a late rally to close the deal, winning the next six points to take the set 25-19 and the match 3-1.
 
Wofford's conference tilt continues at Mercer (4-7) Friday, Sept. 22 and at Samford (5-9) Saturday, Sept. 23. The Terriers return home Wednesday, Sept. 27 against The Citadel at 6 p.m.