SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team picked up its first win since 2018 over Samford (4-17, 3-7 SoCon) on Saturday evening, dropping the Bulldogs in four sets, 25-17, 25-19, 20-25, 25-20, to move to 12-11 and 6-5 in the Southern Conference. The Terriers continue to defend their home court in pushing its record to 8-2 at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium this season, as Kennedy Smith and Sarah Barham led the Terriers with 12 and 10 kills, respectively, on the night.
 
Tonight's victory marks the first since Wofford defeated Samford, 3-1, at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium on Oct. 20, 2018.
 
Junior outside hitter Kennedy Smith finished just shy of a consecutive double-double performance with 12 kills and nine digs, along with two blocks and an ace. Sophomore middle blocker Sarah Barham recorded 10 kills and a team-high five blocks.
 
Sarah MacLean finished with eight kills, on a career-best .412 hitting, and one block, followed by junior middle hitter Emory Wyatt with four kills and four blocks – a season-high through conference play. Sophomore Emily Hodsdon posted 37 assists and five digs, along with an ace, kill and block. Freshman outside hitter Mary Emily Morgan recorded seven kills and six digs.
 
Senior Robyn Krause landed a career-best five aces to pair with a season-high eight digs, as Addison Foote tallied eight digs along with a kill, two aces and assist. Junior Chasidy Sharpe posted two aces and three digs.
 
Wofford finished the match hitting .216, besting Samford's .155 hitting percentage, while also posting 11 blocks to the Bulldogs' five for a strong presence at the net.
 
Tied up at 10-10 in the first set, Wofford would push an advantage upon a 4-0 run, followed by a Barham kill and back-to-back solo blocks from Barham and Emory Wyatt to force a Bulldogs timeout at 17-13. Out of the break, Smith landed a kill, followed by a Hodsdon ace and another Barham block to push a 20-14 margin. Samford crept back with a 3-0 spurt, though, another Smith swing and Samford ball-handling error forced the Bulldogs to burn their final timeout at 22-17. The Bulldogs would then play into three consecutive attack errors to hand the set over at 25-17.
 
Samford hopped out to a 12-9 lead through the first half of the frame prior to Wofford using a 5-2 run to knot the match at 14-14 after a Barham kill. Robyn Krause knotted the match again after an ace on serve (16-16) followed by a consecutive ace and kills from Sarah MacLean and Mary Emily Morgan to force a Bulldogs timeout at 19-16. Another Krause ace ensued at 21-16, as Foote would go on to spark set point with an ace at 24-18. MacLean would then swing home the set-clinching kill to go up 2-0, 25-19.
 
Samford held off the sweep with a 25-20 decision in the third, though, Wofford came out the gates boosting an 8-4 lead in the fourth at a Samford timeout. Both teams went on to trade points, as a Barham solo block sparked a 3-0 run that saw kills from Addison Foote and Kennedy Smith to boost a 15-11 lead. From there, MacLean and Smith kills, along with a pair of Samford errors, paced Wofford with a 20-16 advantage at Samford's final timeout. The Bulldogs rallied to creep within two, 21-19, though, MacLean and Smith kills rekindled a cushion for set point (24-20). The Bulldogs would return back on serve, unluckily squandering a service error to grant Wofford the weekend sweep at home, 25-20.
 
Samford was led by Lauren Deaton and Gracie Lynn Butler with 14 kills apiece.
 
Wofford (12-11, 6-5 SoCon) takes the court again on Wednesday, Oct. 27, as the Terriers will host The Citadel for their home finale at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. First serve is slated for a 6 p.m. start.