GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team put forth a stout effort inside Timmons Arena in the Southern Conference Tournament with a fast start, but the No. 5 Terriers fell to No. 4 Chattanooga in five sets (25-21, 25-21, 25-27, 21-25, 8-15) after winning the first two in the quarterfinals. Wofford concludes its season with a 16-13 (8-8 SoCon) record.
 
The Terriers utilized a slightly better hitting clip in the contest with a .195 mark to Chattanooga's .181. But the Mocs controlled the net with 12 blocks to Wofford's 10, and they dominated the service line with nine aces to just five for the Terriers.
 
Wofford was led by plenty of hard-fought individual efforts, including three Terriers with double-doubles, a first for the season. Mary Emily Morgan led the offense as one of four with double-digit kills, notching 14 alongside a career-high 18 digs. This is Morgan's third double-double of the season and her career.
 
Kennedy Smith was right behind Morgan with 13 kills, and she added a career-best 22 digs for her sixth double-double of the campaign, 13^th career.
 
Victoria Hensley paced the offense with 52 assists, a career high. The freshman also scooped 15 digs for her team-leading seventh double-double of the season.
 
Sarah MacLean and Sarah Barham each also recorded double-digit kills with 12 and 11, respectively. Barham added four blocks as well.
 
But it was Millie Loehr who edged out Barham for the blocking lead with five swats on the day. Abbey Richman recorded her 21^st consecutive match with double-digit digs by way of 24. Kaitlyn Brown sent home a pair of aces to lead the team as the only Terrier with multiple.
 
The first set was a back-and-forth tilt, and Wofford utilized a pair of four-point runs to its advantage, but a five-point Chattanooga run put the Mocs in front 20-18. That was when the Terriers returned the favor with their own five-point run to flip the script and lead 23-20. Chattanooga notched a point, but a pair of Moc errors handed set one to Wofford.
 
Chattanooga led early, 10-7, in the second set, but another four-point Terrier run put Wofford ahead by one, 11-10. After trading some more blows, Wofford secured seven of eight points to hold a 20-13 advantage. The Mocs put forth their best efforts to fight back, pulling within two at 23-21, but Kennedy Smith and Mary Emily Morgan came through with kills to seal the deal and bring the Terriers a set away.
 
Set three was more of the same, a tug-of-war that saw Chattanooga lead by one, 11-10, before Wofford then pulled ahead by a point, 16-15. Sarah MacLean put away a kill for a Wofford match point at 24-23, but the Mocs responded. Mary Emily Morgan then brought about a second match point, but again the Mocs responded. They then scored two more points to claim the set, 27-25, and force a fourth.
 
Chattanooga rode its momentum entering the fourth set, holding an 18-11 lead late. But the Terriers found a groove with a six-point run to fight back and pull within a point at 18-17. Wofford stayed right on Chattanooga's heels but could not quite get over the hump, falling 25-21 to create the winner-take-all fifth set.
 
After the Mocs claimed the first two points, Sarah Barham got to work with a kill and solo block to tie the fifth set at 2-2. The sides traded a pair of points before Chattanooga won three-straight. Morgan notched a kill to keep Wofford in striking distance at 6-4, but the Mocs found a rhythm from there, rattling off five consecutive points to take an 11-4 lead. Wofford could not complete the comeback from there, as Chattanooga held on to win the fifth set and the match.
 
Wofford's season comes to end with the SoCon Tournament defeat. At 16-13, the Terriers have notched their third-straight season with a winning record. With an 8-8 SoCon mark, this is Wofford's fourth-straight season finishing at least .500 in league play. The Terriers will return to the court next season in 2023.