BIRGMINGHAM, Ala. ­– The Wofford volleyball team's season would unfortunately come to an end at the Pete Hanna Center on Sunday evening, playing a hard-fought match against seventh-seeded The Citadel in the 2021 Southern Conference Championship, though, the Bulldogs would ultimately win the title in straight sets, 23-25, 18-25, 22-25, to conclude Wofford's season with a 17-14 overall record. Despite the loss, sophomore setter Emily Hodsdon and freshman middle blocker Sarah MacLean were named to the All-Tournament Team for their performances on the weekend.
 
Wofford's 17 wins mark the most in a season since 2017, in which also saw a runner-up finish.
 
MacLean finished with a team-high 12 kills on .417 hitting, in addition to two blocks, while Hodsdon tallied 31 assists, three blocks and eight digs in the match.
 
MacLean finished as the league's leader in hitting percentage (.320), marking the second consecutive season a Wofford freshman has done so (2020-21 – Sarah Barham, .357).
 
Heading into the match, Hodsdon ranked 12^th in the NCAA in assists and finishes with 1,149 for the 2021 season, marking the 10^th most assists recorded in a season since 2001 (1,088 – Molly Bushong).
 
Junior outside hitter Kennedy Smith registered 11 kills to pair with an ace, block and seven digs, while sophomore middle blocker Sarah Barham added seven kills, two blocks and two digs.
 
Barham surpassed 200 blocks for her career upon today's performance, while the sophomore additionally broke a 21-year single-season record for blocks in recording 138 for the season – edging former record holder Currie Gossett's 137-block total for the 2000 season.
 
Heading into Sunday's championship match, Barham ranked 16^th in the NCAA for total blocks.
 
Mary Emily Morgan finished with four kills and seven digs, as Emory Wyatt contributed two kills, followed by Addison Foote with an ace and kill apiece. Kaitlyn Brown dished four assists along with recording nine digs, while Abbey Richman (seven digs, one ace), Kelly Hubbard (one kill) and Chasidy Sharpe (one ace) round out Wofford's contributions.
 
The Citadel held a plus-11 kill total for the match (49-38) while finishing with a .324 hitting percentage, paced by Sharlissa de Jesus' double-double performance of 18 kills and 12 digs. SoCon Freshman of the Year Ali Ruffin finished with 11 kills and seven digs to round out the Bulldogs' double-figure performers.
 
Wofford held the advantage in digs (43-40) and blocks (5-4) for the match, as the Bulldogs landed six aces on-serve to the Terriers' four.
 
Both teams came out swinging heavy in the first set, seeing Wofford lead 14-11 after a Kennedy Smith kill – in which she tallied nine of her 11 kills in the opening set. The Citadel would climb back to tie the margin at 15-15 before seeing five more tied scores up until a Abbey Richman ace gave the Terriers a 21-20 edge at a Bulldogs timeout. Wofford held a one-point edge after a MacLean kill, 23-22, though, Gina Delancey would knot the score once again at 23-23 prior to The Citadel's de Jesus putting the finishing touches away to hand the Bulldogs with a 25-23 advantage.
 
The second set was played relatively closely similar to the first up until back-to-back Bulldogs kills gave The Citadel a 15-12 lead at the media timeout. A pair of Bulldogs aces and Wofford errors then pushed a five-point cushion for the Bulldogs, 18-13, as the Terriers would manage to bring the margin within four at a Sarah Barham solo block (22-18), though, a Ruffin kill forced a timeout at 23-18. The Bulldogs would go on to run away with the second set as well, hitting .355 in the frame to pull off the 25-18 decision.
 
Wofford held the leads through the opening rallies of the third, using a Chasidy Sharpe ace to force an early Bulldogs timeout up 12-10. The Citadel refused to back down, quickly erasing the deficit in trading tied scores up until a MacLean attack error handed the Bulldogs a late 20-19 lead at a Terriers timeout. A trio of kills from Smith, MacLean and Barham knotted the match at 22-22, though, The Citadel's de Jesus kept a one-point lead to force Wofford's final timeout at 23-22. From there, the Bulldogs would win the next point for match-point, as an attacking error would grant the Bulldogs the title at 25-22.
 
Wofford led the league in blocks for a consecutive season (2.20/s), while finishing second in the SoCon with a .213 hitting percentage as a team.
 
The Terriers conclude the 2021 season 17-14 overall and 9-7 in the Southern Conference, as Sarah Barham finished as the team's leader in points (369.0), kills (260) and blocks (138). Emily Hodsdon led the team in assists (1,149) and aces (38), while sophomore Kaitlyn Brown finished as the squad's dig leader (301).