SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team impressed in its first match of the 2021 season on Sunday afternoon, bouncing back in four sets to hand Chattanooga (4-1, 2-1 SoCon) its first loss overall and first SoCon loss of the year at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, 3-1.
 
After narrowly falling to the Mocs in the first set, 25-23, Wofford stormed back with vengeance to claim the following three sets (25-17, 25-15, 25-19) to collect its first win in the Southern Conference.
 
Despite a four-game difference between the two squads, due to COVID-19 protocols that delayed Wofford's first four matches, the Terriers certainly showcased the hunger and anticipation to take the court again, as senior middle blocker Riley Coonan and sophomore outside hitter Bella Zeman each registered 11 kills to pace Wofford's attack – marking a new career-high for Zeman in her 2021 debut with 11.0 points on the night. Coonan accounted for a match-high 16.0 points, as she also tallied five blocks (three solo) and five digs in the win.
 
Freshman middle hitter Millie Loehr enjoyed a solid .450 hitting percentage on nine kills and a block in her first match as a Terrier, while sophomore Kennedy Smith also tallied nine kills to go along with two assists and a match-high 14 digs.
 
Freshman Emily Hodsdon recorded a match-high 39 assists in her Wofford debut to pair with 11 digs for her first career double-double, along with four kills, three service aces and three blocks, while classmate Sarah Barham added six kills and three digs. 
 
Freshman libero Abbey Richman and sophomore Meghan Yaffa held steady throughout the match with 11 and seven digs, respectively, as senior Emily Durham recorded eight digs and an assist on the night.
 
The opening stanza set the stage for what looked to be a tightly-contested matchup, seeing Chattanooga claim the early edge before Wofford would mount .333 and .375 hitting percentages in the second and third sets, respectively, to shape into winning form.
 
Wofford built early momentum after a Sarah Barham kill and back-to-back kills from Kennedy Smith pushed a 12-9 advantage, though, Chattanooga quickly erased the deficit to reclaim a 13-12 lead that forced a Wofford timeout. Another Smith kill from Emily Hodsdon and a pair of attack errors by the Mocs then reclaimed a 15-13 lead before seeing the score deadlocked at 16-16. Coonan landed a service ace, followed by Bella Zeman rocketing a kill in Mocs territory to hold a 19-18 margin, before the Mocs would notch five of the following seven points to push a late 23-21 edge. The Terriers knotted the score at 23-23, however, a service error miscue led to a final kill from Chattanooga's Maia Rackel to claim the first set.
 
The Terriers came out solid in the second set, opening a 13-10 lead upon a kill from Coonan midway through the frame, as Wofford found its groove in claiming seven of the following 10 points to hold a 20-13 spread. A Mocs 3-0 run brought the margin within four (20-16) before Wofford blitzed Chattanooga with a pair of kills from Millie Loehr and Sarah Barham to extend the lead, 23-16. A Barham kill ensued prior to first-year Abbey Richman claiming Wofford's first set victory of the year and the momentum on a service ace, 25-17.
 
The third set would be all Wofford, seeing an early 4-0 run open an 8-4 lead prior to a Zeman kill making the score 10-7. A Loehr kill and service ace from Meghan Yaffa then spiced things up for Wofford, as the Terriers rallied to push a 10-point lead behind kills from Zeman and Coonan, 20-10. The Mocs put up an effort to cut the lead, however, Hodsdon would corral back-to-back service aces to suppress Chattanooga's ambition, while Loehr finished them off with a kill to boost a 2-1 lead with the 25-15 set victory.
 
Chattanooga competed with urgency in the final set, jumping out to a 7-2 lead before Wofford climbed back to make for a 10-6 deficit. Attack miscues for the Mocs allowed Wofford to come within one (10-9), as the squads exchanged points prior to Zeman zipping a critical kill on a set from Abbey Richman to turn the momentum. With Yaffa holding serve, the Terriers reclaimed the lead, 15-14, prior to a Coonan kill sparking a 5-0 run that produced a 22-16 margin. After another Mocs miscue, Chattanooga picked itself up to close in, 23-19, however, the miscues would catch up with them – with 12 errors in the final set – as a service error and subsequent attack error ended the match in Wofford's favor, 25-19.
 
Wofford held Chattanooga to a .086 hitting percentage for the match, including just nine kills on a -.075 attack percentage in the final frame, while forcing 33 attack errors throughout the contest. 

The Terriers return to action on Monday, February 8, closing out its conference series with Chattanooga at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. First serve is slated for 5 p.m.