SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team closed out its home slate at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium with a resilient four-set victory over The Citadel (9-8, 5-6 SoCon) on Wednesday evening, 23-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-23, to secure its ninth home victory of the season and claim sole possession of fourth-place in the Southern Conference with a 7-5 league mark. The Terriers clicked on all cylinders throughout the match, posting a season-high 15 blocks while Kennedy Smith secured her fourth double-double of the season, along with career-best efforts from middle blockers Sarah Barham and Sarah MacLean in double figures.
 
Wofford's 9-2 home mark for the 2021 season adds to the Terriers' dominance at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, having lost no more than two matches on their home court in each season with a 41-9 record (.820) since the building's opening in 2017.
 
A plethora of Terriers stepped up in Wednesday's hard-fought matchup with the Bulldogs, led by sophomore Sarah Barham with 16 kills (tied career-high) on .519 hitting and seven blocks, followed by Kennedy Smith with her sixth career double-double, and second in three matches, of 16 kills and 16 digs, along with two aces. Freshman Sarah MacLean added a breakout performance, as the middle blocker swung a career-best 14 kills on .429 hitting, while matching a career-high of four blocks.
 
Sophomore setter Emily Hodsdon provided the spark for the Wofford offense, adding her fifth 50-plus assist performance of the season with a match-high 55 to couple with two blocks and kills apiece and five digs. Junior middle hitter Emory Wyatt stepped up big for the Terriers, contributing a career-best seven blocks with a fierce presence at the net, while adding four kills and three digs through four sets.
 
Freshman outside hitter Mary Emily Morgan also was active with nine kills and five digs, while sophomore libero Kaitlyn Brown continued to anchor the Terriers' defensive efforts with a team-high 18 digs. Brown also added four assists, as senior Robyn Krause also provided a boost defensively with a season-high 10 digs in her final match at Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.
 
Additionally, sophomore Addison Foote was steady throughout the duration of the match with three kills and nine digs.
 
After dropping the first set, 23-25, the Terriers rallied through the following sets, hitting .333 in the second with 19 kills, followed by dialing 18 kills on .311 hitting in the third to boost the advantage.
 
Up 2-1 on the The Citadel, Wofford used a 3-0 run on consecutive Kennedy Smith kills and a Barham / Emory Wyatt combination block to force a Bulldogs timeout leading 15-12. A Smith ace then pushed an 18-14 margin before The Citadel erased the deficit with a 5-1 run to claim a 19-18 advantage. The margin would be tied twice at 19-all and 20-all before a kill from The Citadel's Gina Delancey and an Ali Ruffin ace burned Wofford's final timeout down 22-20.
 
Out of the break, the Terriers regained their focus with an Emily Hodsdon / Sarah MacLean combination block prior to a MacLean kill and Bulldogs attack error knotting the match at 23-23. With Kaitlyn Brown on serve, Wofford's momentum proved too much to handle for the Bulldogs, as The Citadel would squander an opportunity at a fifth set with a pair of costly attack errors that would hand Wofford its ninth home victory with a 25-23 fourth-set decision.
 
The Terriers hit .272 for the match, besting The Citadel in kills (64-59) and assists (60-56) while holding the Bulldogs to .209 hitting.
 
Despite a slight discrepancy in digs to the Bulldogs (74-68), the Terriers also finished with the edge in blocks, 15-10.
 
The Citadel was led by Sharlissa de Jesus with a double-double of 25 kills and 16 digs, followed by Ali Ruffin and Makaya Middleton with 13 kills each.
 
Wofford (13-11, 7-5 SoCon) takes a brief hiatus over the weekend, as the Terriers prepare for a critical four-match road stretch to conclude the regular season, starting at Western Carolina on Friday, Nov. 5, followed by a matchup at UNCG in Greesnboro, N.C. on Saturday, Nov. 6.
 
First serve for next Friday's matchup in Cullowhee, N.C. is set for a 6 p.m. start on ESPN+.