SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team capped an undefeated weekend after collecting a bounce-back win over North Alabama (4-7) on Sunday afternoon, 19-25, 25-14, 26-24, 25-10, to defend its home court and secure the Wofford Invitational crown at the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Sophomore setter
Emily Hodsdon highlights Wofford's All-Tournament honors as the Tournament MVP, while outside hitter
Addison Foote and middle blocker
Sarah Barham notched All-Tournament Team recognition upon the 3-0 finish.
The three-match win streak moves Wofford to 5-4 overall on the season.
Hodsdon, a native of Alpharetta, Ga., continues her superb production for the Terriers in tallying roughly 79 percent of Wofford's assists with 86 over three matches, in addition to strong contributions on serve and defensively with 11 aces and 21 digs total, respectively.
The sophomore setter paced Wofford with a match-high 33 assists in its win over the Lions, in addition to a career-best six aces to go along with three blocks and a dig.
Hodsdon's six aces tie a four-set single-game program record, last set by Catie Cronister against Western Carolina on Nov. 2, 2018.
Barham was stellar in the Terriers' final match as well, tallying 18.5 points on 10 kills, a career-best five aces and five blocks, while
Addison Foote notched her first career double-double in matching her career-high of 13 kills and recording a career-best 16 digs.
Barham's five aces also currently match the fourth-best four-set single-game ace mark (
Meghan Yaffa vs. Furman, March 12, 2021).
The Terriers received several contributions across the board, as outside hitter
Meghan Yaffa finished with seven kills, an ace and three blocks, followed by junior
Emory Wyatt with another solid performance in a season-best six kills and three blocks. Additionally, freshman
Mary Emily Morgan provided a boost off the bench with seven kills and five digs, as sophomore libero
Abbey Richman matched a career-best six assists to pair with 12 digs and an ace.
The Lions came out swinging in the first set, though, Wofford buckled down defensively and began to find its rhythm through several areas of attack. In addition to feeding the hot hands, the Terriers were also solid at the net with eight blocks, while landing a total of 14 aces throughout the match.
After dropping a 25-19 decision in the first set, the Lions came out poised again in the second with an early 10-7 lead. An UNA service error then put Wofford back in possession, as kills from
Mary Emily Morgan and
Sarah Barham lifted Wofford to a 13-10 advantage to force a Lions timeout. The Lions regrouped, though, Yaffa and Morgan paced the Terriers' attack, along with UNA errors, to extend a seven-point edge at 20-13. A Yaffa kill put the Terriers back on serve, as Yaffa and
Addison Foote dialed away the final three kills before
Sarah Barham would land an ace on set point to secure the 25-14 second-set decision.
The Terriers rolled over the momentum into the third set, seeing an
Addison Foote ace force a Lions timeout up 12-5. A sequence of errors from both squads would ensue before Morgan and Yaffa continued to add kills for Wofford with a 16-10 margin. UNA began to chip away point-by-point, as errors would allow the Lions to crawl back within three at a Wofford timeout, 19-16. Consecutive attack errors forced Wofford to burn its last timeout shortly after at 20-19, though, points from Foote and Barham kept two-point cushions (24-22). The Lions would deadlock the set at 24-24, as a crucial Barham kill followed to summon set point prior to a Lions attack error granting Wofford the advantage, 26-24.
The third set would be the Terriers' from start to finish, almost identically busting out an early 12-5 lead before an
Emory Wyatt swing forced the Lions to talk things over.
Sarah Barham would then wreak havoc for North Alabama while on serve, landing four aces, including three back-to-back, en route to an
Addison Foote kill giving Wofford a 13-point lead at 19-6. Wyatt would send home another kill, followed by points from Hodsdon and
Mary Emily Morgan, before a North Alabama attack error set up match point at 24-10. Hodsdon then jumped on serve for the Terriers, fittingly ending the match off with her milestone sixth ace to give the Terriers its third victory of the weekend, 25-10.
The full Wofford Invitational All-Tournament Team consisted of South Carolina State's Kendal Rivera and Chelsea Cole, Gardner-Webb's Lauryn Rocassin and Hannah Donaldson, North Alabama's Kamryn Parsonage and Maggie Sullivan and Wofford's Foote, Barham and Hodsdon as MVP.
Wofford (5-4) competes next in Blacksburg, Va. when the Terriers travel to compete in a tournament hosted by Virginia Tech, with doubleheaders against North Carolina A&T (10 a.m.) and Virginia Tech (7 p.m.) on Friday, Sept. 17. The Terriers then conclude the tournament with a 1 p.m. matchup against George Mason on Saturday, Sept. 18.
