MACON, Ga. – Despite jumping out to an early two-set lead and setting a program record for blocks as a team, the Mercer Bears (9-5, 8-1 SoCon) rallied over the final three sets to overcome the deficit and hand the Terriers a 3-2 loss (25-19, 25-21, 24-26, 20-25, 9-15) at Hawkins Arena on Sunday afternoon. The Terriers saw four reach double figures for just the second time this season, paced by first-year Sarah Barham accounting for a career-best 20.5 points in the match, as Wofford claims sole possession of third place in the Southern Conference in slipping to 7-3 on the year.
 
Despite Wofford's first five-set loss of the season, the Terriers set a program record with 20.0 blocks in the match, led by Barham with a career-high 13 (11 assisted).

The program-best performance replaces a 19.0-block match at Stetson on September 10, 2011.
 
Sarah Barham, the SoCon's leader in hitting percentage (.378), continues her spectacular play for the Terriers, recording her fourth consecutive match in double digits with 12 kills and a service ace. The 12-kill, 13-block performance marks Barham's first career double-double. 
 
Senior Riley Coonan pitched in with 13 kills and a season-best seven blocks (three solo), as sophomore Meghan Yaffa led with a team-high 15 kills on a match-best .351 hitting percentage and seven digs. Yaffa also corralled a season-best two blocks in the match.
 
Classmate Bella Zeman returned to action for the Terriers with a solid performance, adding 13 kills and a career-high six blocks to round out the Terriers in double figures. Freshman Emily Hodsdon recorded her fifth career double-double on a match-high 40 assists and 12 digs, while landing a kill and service ace on the day.
 
Millie Loehr tallied six blocks, two kills and an assist, as senior Emily Durham contributed season-bests with two aces and assists each and seven digs. Freshman Abbey Richman recorded a team-best 20 digs at libero.
 
Wofford looked poised to notch its third sweep of the season, grinding out consecutive set victories to open the match, up until the Bears managed to survive a match-point scenario in the third set that gave Mercer the second wind to nab the come-from-behind victory.
 
The Terriers got things going early to open the match, claiming a nine-point lead, 14-5, with Sarah Barham on serve and a trio of kills from Riley Coonan (2) and Meghan Yaffa. The Terriers continued its relentless attack, hitting .533 in the opening set with 17 total kills, as a Barham kill and subsequent block from Barham and Millie Loehr pushed a 20-12 lead. A Mercer 4-0 run ensued, though, Emily Hodsdon kept the Wofford attack in sync, setting 13 of the team's 14 assists in the set, to pace the Terriers to a 22-17 advantage. Yaffa would then go on to register the final three points to close the first set, 25-19.
 
Wofford continued its attack in the second set in opening a 5-0 run, paced by three kills from Bella Zeman, prior to a sequence of a Sarah Barham solo block, Emily Hodsdon ace and Zeman kill forcing a Mercer timeout at 8-1. A paired block from Barham and Loehr ensued, as Emily Durham landed an ace on Mercer's Megan Smith to summon a double-digit lead at 12-2. The Bears chipped away to close in with a 14-9 margin, as both teams traded points going forward to see Wofford lead 21-16 at another Bears timeout. A bad set by Mercer's Oliveira set up set-point, as Zeman recorded the winner to see Wofford go up 2-0, 25-21.
 
The third set sparked a shift in momentum, seeing 14 tied scores and three lead changes in the frame, though, the rhythm of the set seemed to favor the Terriers with a 20-16 lead after a Bears attack error. The Bears deadlocked the set at 20-20, after a set error on Hodsdon, though, another set error by the Bears allowed for a two-point lead after a Zeman and Coonan block (22-20). The Bears would tie the score two more times, as Wofford notched match-point at 24-22 with a block from the tandem of Zeman and Barham. Unfortunately, an attack error from Barham would squander the sweep opportunity, as the Bears rallied for the next two points to stay alive, 26-24.
 
Riding the momentum, the Bears came out on point to lead 15-10 midway through the fourth. A Riley Coonan kill cut the deficit to two points (17-15), though, the Bears held off to hold a 19-15 edge. Wofford nabbed four of the next five points to come within one, 20-19, however, a four-point Mercer spurt would ultimately allow the Bears to come away with a 25-20 victory to force a fifth set.
 
Both teams competed vigorously, seeing three tied scores with a Meghan Yaffa kill and Mercer attack error making for a 7-7 margin. The Bears then sparked a 4-0 run, prior to a Zeman kill breaking the Terriers' silence at 11-8. The Terriers would see a Barham kill late, though, the Bears held enough momentum upon the three-set rally to corral the final two kills and come away with bounce-back victory, 15-9.
 
Wofford (7-3, 7-3 SoCon) returns to action in Macon, Ga. tomorrow (Mon., March 8) against the Bears for a 6 p.m. match at Hawkins Arena.