CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Wofford volleyball team battled the Western Carolina Catamounts for four tough sets inside the Ramsey Center Friday night but came up just short (23-25, 25-18, 24-26, 23-25). The Terriers drop to 13-11 overall and 5-7 in the SoCon with the result. The Catamounts improve to 15-8 and 8-3 in league play.
 
A tight match, Wofford led in kills (55-52), assists (53-51) and digs (66-58). Western Carolina led the ace battle 5-3 with blocks even at 12 apiece. All three sets Wofford lost were by just two points.
 
Three Terriers tallied 10 kills each to tie for the team lead. Bella Zeman, Millie Loehr and Sarah MacLean all reached the double-digit mark, and Victoria Hensley paced that offense with 33 assists. Zeman has notched double-digits kills in now six-straight matches.
 
Abbey Richman topped the squad with a pair of aces and 17 digs. It is her 16^th consecutive match in double figures and leading the team.
 
Sarah Barham led the way at the net alongside Loehr, each swatting five. Barham now sits two blocks away from joining the 300 club for her career.
 
Set one set the tone for how tight of a match the teams would face the entire night. Tied at 11, Western Carolina won three-straight before Wofford claimed a pair to pull back within one at 13-14. The Catamounts later held set point at 24-22, but Sarah Barham put down a kill to pull Wofford within a point. But the Catamounts claimed the next point and the set.
 
Wofford led 9-6 in set two, but three-straight points pulled Western Carolina level. Sarah MacLean put the Terriers ahead, but the Catamounts pulled back in front at 10-12. Then Wofford found its groove, winning seven of the next eight points. Abbey Richman's ace punctuated the run, giving Wofford a 17-13 advantage. The Terriers continued to ride that momentum, ultimately claiming the set by a score of 25-18 to level the contest.
 
Western Carolina bounced back well, and it held a lead of 22-17 that seemed to be comfortable, but Wofford had other ideas. A six-point featuring a pair of Bella Zeman kills put the Terriers up by a point at 23-22. Though the Catamounts claimed the next two, Wofford responded with a Sarah MacLean kill to even the set at 24. But Western Carolina again claimed a pair of point to stymy the Wofford comeback attempt and win the set.
 
Needing to respond, Wofford opened the fourth set ahead 9-5. But Western Carolina again found a groove to move ahead at 13-11. Kennedy Smith eventually tallied a set-evening kill, making the score 17-17. Millie Loehr later made it 21-20 in favor of the Terriers, but three-straight points flipped the score back the way of the Catamounts at 23-21. Loehr came through again to pull Wofford within one, but the Catamounts again responded. A service error made it a one-point set once more, but another response from Western Carolina was the final one, sealing the contest in favor of the Catamounts.
 
Wofford remains on the road tomorrow evening, traveling to Greensboro for a match-up against UNCG. The match against the Spartans is set to begin at 5:00 p.m.