ORLANDO, Fla. - The Wofford volleyball team split the opening day of the UCF Challenge, falling to Illinois-Chicago but defeating Florida International on Friday. Wofford dropped the opener against Illinois-Chicago in straight sets on Friday afternoon (25-22, 25-21, 25-23) before topping FIU in a thrilling five-set victory (25-17, 15-26, 20-25, 35-33, 15-11) on Friday night.

The Terriers were led by junior Catie Cronister, recording 31 kills in the two matches, followed by Colleen Reilly who totaled 19 in the split. Taylor Gill tallied 47 digs while Lorissa King dished out 47 assists, 33 coming against FIU. 

In the first match, Cronister smacked her second kill of the match as the Terriers looked poised to take the lead, but the Flames reeled of four points in a row, jumping out to a 10-6 advantage. After Illinois-Chicago extended its lead to seven, Wofford scored four unanswered to make the score 20-18 in favor of Illinois-Chicago. The Terriers would not get any closer, however, as Illinois-Chicago took set one.
 
Wofford blitzed the Flames to start the second set, taking a 12-4 lead. But Illinois-Chicago would battle back, taking a 16-15 lead and would slowly extend the lead to ultimately take set number two. Trailing 22-18 in the third, a pair of kills and an attack error brought Wofford to within one point of the Flames. After a Reilly kill, the score was tied at 23-23 before a service error and an Illinois-Chicago kill sealed the match for the Flames.

In the second match, Wofford dominated from the tip, riding Cronister's seven-kill first set to a 25-17 victory. After dropping the second set, the Terriers traded points deep into the third set, holding an 18-16 lead before the Panthers recorded four-straight points to take the lead. Wofford would not get any closer down the stretch, dropping the set to FIU. 

Seemingly in control of the fourth set, the Terriers held a 24-18 advantage, but could not put the Panthers away as FIU reeled off six points in a row to tie the set at 24. From there, the two sides would alternate point after point, finding themselves knotted up at 33-33. From here, a Cronister kill and an attack error by FIU sent the match to a fifth set. 

Despite the momentum going into the fifth, Wofford fell behind early but tied the set at 5-5. With the score later tied at eight points apiece, the Terriers took a two-point lead after a Reilly kill and an attack error. Wofford would hold off the pesky Panthers, ultimately claiming the match via a Meghan Yaffa kill.

Wofford improves to 5-4 on the season and caps off the UCF Challenge on Saturday, facing Central Florida at 2 p.m.