MACON, Ga. – The Wofford volleyball team collected its first Southern Conference victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, downing Mercer (5-8, 1-1 SoCon) in four sets at Hawkins Arena for the first time since 2017, 25-19, 23-25, 25-18, 25-23. The win halts a three-match streak for the Bears against Wofford, as the Terriers move to 7-8 overall and 1-2 in the SoCon.
 
The Terriers received plenty of contributions across the board for the crucial win, led by middle blocker Sarah Barham with 10 kills, a season-high eight blocks and two aces. Junior Kennedy Smith tallied a season-high eight kills, career-best four blocks, two aces and five digs, while Meghan Yaffa added nine kills and four blocks.
 
Freshman Sarah MacLean recorded a breakout performance with a career-best eight kills after a career-high performance Friday night at Samford, followed by sophomore Addison Foote registering seven kills, a block and 17 digs. Emily Hodsdon tallied 36 assists, three kills, a block and three digs, while sophomore Kaitlyn Brown racked up a career-high 23 digs at libero, along with a kill and an ace.
 
Wofford finished with the advantage for the match in blocks, 12-11, and digs, 56-54. Errors hurt the Bears down the stretch in pivotal moments, recording 12 errors apiece on sets and serves for the match.
 
Three Bears finished with double-figure kill totals, led by Rayanne de Oliviera with 14 kills, followed by Annie Karle (12) and Taylor Lynch (10).
 
Mercer and Wofford traded point-for-point before consecutive kills from Sarah Barham and Addison Foote gave the Terriers a 15-12 lead. Barham got off to a hot start with two aces and four blocks in the opening frame, as kills from her and Kaitlyn Brown continued to pace the Terriers at 19-16. Mercer errors granted Wofford its next four points, forcing a Bears timeout at 23-19, as the Bears followed with back-to-back miscues out of the break to allow the Terriers to come away with the 25-19 edge in the first set.
 
The Terriers played neck-and-neck with Mercer through the second set, as Sarah MacLean racked up four kills, along with points from Meghan Yaffa and Addison Foote, to play up to a 15-15 deadlock. The Bears then answered with a 3-0 run to take an 18-15 cushion and force a Wofford timeout. Mercer nabbed a couple-straight points up until Wofford unleashed a 6-0 run behind Emily Hodsdon and Sarah Barham kills to reclaim a 21-20 lead. The Bears reclaimed the edge, 23-22, after a bad set, as a Jaida Howell kill and combination block from Howell and Mercer's Annie Karle ended the set in the Bears favor, 25-23.
 
Wofford jumped out to a 9-3 start to see an early Mercer timeout, as the Bears then rallied for nine of the following 14 points to climb back within striking distance after a Taylor Lynch kill, 14-12. Out of the break, another MacLean kill and ace from Kaitlyn Brown kept a three-point cushion (16-13), followed by a crucial 3-0 run off a Hodsdon kill to burn Mercer's last timeout at 19-14. Yaffa pushed the advantage, along with a Robyn Krause ace to spark set point at 24-17, as the Bears would squander any opportunity for a comeback with a costly service error to drop the third set, 25-18.
 
The Terriers opened with a 5-0 lead in the fourth prior to the Bears using a 3-0 run to take a 15-12 lead by the midway point of the frame. The Bears continued to rack up errors, seeing three consecutive knot the match at 18-18 before a Mercer bad set granted Wofford the lead again (19-18). Kills from Sarah Barham and Kennedy Smith kept a one-point margin (22-21), as Smith would then takeover with three-straight points to spark set point at 24-22. A Wofford service error on the ensuing possession forced the Terriers to talk it over, as Smith would go on to tally the winner with her eighth kill to give Wofford its first SoCon victory of the season, 25-23.
 
Next, Wofford (7-8, 1-2 SoCon) travels to Charleston, S.C. for a Wednesday evening matchup at The Citadel on September 29. First serve is slated for 6 p.m.