BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Wofford volleyball team kicked off its 2021 season at the FAU Invitational, hosted by Florida Atlantic University, on Friday, August 27, as the Terriers split wins in a pair of competitive five-set matches against North Florida (2-3) and Stony Brook (3-2) at Abessinio Court at FAU Arena. Redshirt-junior Meghan Yaffa completed stellar performances in both matches for the Terriers, eclipsing career-highs in both matches with a combined 45 kills to highlight Wofford's attack on the day.
 
Match One | North Florida (L - 25-17, 14-25, 16-25, 25-20, 13-15):
 
Yaffa accounted for a match-best 25.0 points with 21 kills (then-career-best), seven digs, three aces and two blocks. Freshman Mary Emily Morgan was also solid in her Wofford debut, recording 10 kills, eight digs and two aces to round out the Terriers in double digits.
 
Sophomore Addison Foote also provided steady contributions for the Terriers in her debut, falling just shy of a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs, while sophomore Emily Hodsdon continued her steady presence as Wofford's key facilitator with a match-best 36 assists and seven digs.
 
Wofford opened the set with the brief advantage, as a pair of kills from Meghan Yaffa, followed by Mary Emily Morgan's first career ace on serve put the Terriers up early, 5-2. The Ospreys climbed back to tie the margin, seeing both teams trade points up until a crucial 3-0 run, capped by an Abbey Richman ace, gave Wofford a three-point cushion upon a UNF timeout, 17-14. Yaffa's persistent attack ensued, adding a kill and ace before a Millie Loehr point forced another UNF timeout up 21-15. Out of the break, a trio of kills from Addison Foote, Yaffa and Kelly Hubbard then sparked set-point, as a costly UNF attack error handed Wofford the first set, 25-17.
 
Both teams would trade points to open the second set prior to the Ospreys busting out a critical 6-0 run that gave UNF a 10-3 advantage early on. A plethora of errors in the second proved costly for the Terriers, seeing the Ospreys build leads as large as 18-8, forcing another Wofford timeout late in the frame. With UNF passing the 20-point threshold, the Terriers made a late push on kills from Foote, Yaffa and Mary Emily Morgan, though, the Ospreys ultimately carried the rhythm to put Wofford away, 25-14.
 
The Ospreys carried the momentum into the third set in jumping out to a 10-4 lead through the opening rallies. The Terriers would then rebound off a Loehr kill in scoring five of the next six points, capped by a blocks from Loehr and Mary Emily Morgan, to force an Ospreys timeout trailing 11-9. After a paired block from Sarah Barham and Emily Hodsdon, Wofford came within one point on three separate instances (14-13), though, UNF would manage to weather the Terriers' momentum to rattle off 10 of the following 14 points to earn a consecutive set victory, 25-16.
 
Wofford bounced back into rhythm in the fourth set, opening with an 8-3 cushion after early UNF attack errors. The advantage would jump to 12-5 after a Chasidy Sharpe ace, though, the Ospreys crept back with a three-point spurt for a Wofford timeout (12-9). UNF brought the margin to one point, though, consecutive attack errors would allow the Terriers regain their composure with kills from Foote, Emory Wyatt and Meghan Yaffa pushing a 20-14 lead. UNF continued to cut into the lead, however, Yaffa and Foote kills, along with untimely UNF errors, allowed for a fifth set, 25-20.
 
The fifth set was played neck-and-neck to begin, seeing Wofford hold an 8-7 lead before a UNF service error and subsequent Emily Hodsdon ace force a timeout up 10-7. Emory Wyatt found herself another kill to add to the lead, though, consecutive errors from the Terriers resulted in a Wofford timeout with just an 11-10 lead. The Ospreys would then talk things over after Wofford nabbed a 13-10 lead, however, errors began plaguing both teams down the stretch, seeing Wofford squander the lead to a 13-13 deadlock. Coming out of a Wofford timeout, the Ospreys managed to land a timely service ace to take the sixth lead change of the set, as UNF would find itself in position for a crucial block on an Addison Foote swing that unfortunately granted the Ospreys the set and match-point to come away with the fifth-set victory, 15-13.
 
Match Two | Stony Brook (W - 16-25, 30-32, 25-21, 25-20, 15-10):
 
Wofford received balanced contributions across the board in its second match, as a plethora of Terriers eclipsed career-highs en route to hitting .344 as a team and nabbing its first victory of the season.
 
Three Terriers finished in double figures against Stony Brook, as Yaffa followed with a consecutive career-high performance after swinging home 24 kills on an efficient .415 hitting (also career-best), while tallying four digs and two blocks for a career-high 26.5 points on the evening.
 
Sophomore Sarah Barham came alive in the second match, recording 13 kills on .476 hitting with three blocks, while Addison Foote followed with a career-high 10 kills and seven digs. Emily Hodsdon clicked on all cylinders for the second match, recording a match and career-high 63 assists with eight digs and three aces. Junior Bella Zeman notched nine kills on .389 hitting and a block in her first appearance of the season.
 
Mary Emily Morgan added five kills and a career-best 12 digs, as junior Kennedy Smith added five kills and seven digs. Millie Loehr finished with four kills and two blocks, while sophomore libero Abbey Richman tallied 12 digs and two assists.
 
Stony Brook opened the match with the edge through the first set, seeing Wofford maintain hang within arm's length at two to three-point deficits. Addison Foote, Mary Emily Morgan and Meghan Yaffa continued to pave the way for the Terriers, though, the Seawolves ramped up their intensity after a Foote kill at 14-12, notching seven of the following eight points, to bust a comfy 21-13 lead to force a Wofford timeout. A Morgan kill and paired block from Emory Wyatt and Emily Hodsdon kept the Terriers alive late, however, Stony Brook would finish the set with a 25-16 decision.
 
The Terriers came out on the attack to spark the second set, collecting kills on nine of the first 11 points, as a trio of on-target swings from Sarah Barham, Emily Hodsdon and Addison Foote would grant Wofford an 11-8 cushion. Kills from Yaffa and Kelly Hubbard kept the lead (16-12), however, Stony Brook then found its chemistry to rally and deadlock the score at 20-20 prior to back-to-back Barham and Yaffa kills holding a 22-20 edge. The remainder of the set would go wire-to-wire, seeing nine lead changes and eight set-point opportunities between both squads. Meghan Yaffa would hold off consecutive set-points with a pair of kills at 30-30, though, the Seawolves were finally able to capitalize on an advantage to come away with the 32-30 edge in the second.
 
Determined to find a set victory, the Terriers started to pull away halfway through the third, as Bella Zeman swung home her first kill of the year to ignite the Wofford attack to a 13-9 cushion. The Seawolves would climb back behind a brief 3-0 spurt that was erased after Kennedy Smith landed crucial back-to-back kills, followed by a Yaffa ace on serve, to hold an 18-14 lead at a subsequent Stony Brook timeout. Balanced efforts between Barham, Zeman and Yaffa kept the edge in Wofford's favor late, as Emily Hodsdon would go on to set up Yaffa for the winner at 25-21.
 
Both teams hung neck-and-neck to begin the fourth up until back-to-back Meghan Yaffa kills tied things up (11-11), surpassing the 20-kill mark for a consecutive match, while Mary Emily Morgan would grant Wofford the advantage, 13-12, midway through. The squads exchanged points, as a Zeman kill and block from Zeman and Sarah Barham then sparked the Terriers' momentum, seeing Barham add consecutive kills to force a Stony Brook timeout at 19-15. Points from Barham and Kennedy Smith kept Wofford with the lead (23-19), as Hodsdon went on to find Millie Loehr for the set-clinching kill that would deadlock the match and force another fifth set, 25-20.
 
The fifth set would prove to be all Wofford, opening on the right note with back-to-back Emily Hodsdon aces to kick off the extra frame. Kills from Kennedy Smith, Bella Zeman and a Barham/Smith block ensued, while Yaffa and Zeman continued to push the spread and force a Seawolves timeout up 9-3. The Seawolves began to nab a few points, though, errors also allowed the Terriers to build its lead, as a pivotal attack error after a Barham kill set up match-point for the Terriers (14-9). Despite a Wofford service error on the ensuing serve, Yaffa came in with her opening-day heroics in finishing her career-high 24^th kill of the match off the assist from Hodsdon to close out the Seawolves, 15-10, and grant Wofford its first victory of the 2021 season.
 
Next, the Terriers (1-1) are slated to face host FAU tomorrow on Saturday, Aug. 27, at noon in Boca Raton, Fla. Saturday's match will be streamed on Conference USA TV.