CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The Wofford volleyball team dropped a hard-fought five-set battle to the Syracuse Orange (19-25, 17-25, 25-13, 25-17, 10-15) in the morning session at the Halton Arena, but the Terriers bounced back in the evening to dispatch the Morgan State Bears in straight-sets (25-17, 25-17, 30-28). Wofford concludes its stint in the Charlotte Invitational with a 1-2 record. Syracuse improved to 2-0 after the day's opening match, while Morgan State dropped to 0-3.

Junior Sarah Barham was named to the Charlotte Invitational All-Tournament Team upon the conclusion of the event for her performances in Wofford's three matches. 
 
Match One
Syracuse topped Wofford with a .247 hitting clip to the .235 mark of the Terriers. The Orange also led in aces (5-4), blocks (10-7) and assists (59-53).
 
Bella Zeman topped the Terriers with 16 kills as one of two in double figures (Sarah Barham – 13). Barham accrued five blocks to top the team. Emily Hodsdon tallied a double-double, her first of the season, on a team-leading 43 assists and 11 digs. She added three aces to also lead the squad. Addison Foote tallied 16 digs to lead Wofford, edging Kaitlyn Brown's 15.
 
Syracuse controlled the first two sets, claiming them by six and eight points, respectively. However, Wofford battled back to decisively win sets three and four, forcing the winner-take-all fifth set. With the pressure mounting entering the third set, Wofford stepped up to win the first five points. The Terriers jumped out to an 8-1 lead before the Orange began to fight back, but Wofford staved off the comeback attempts. The Terriers notched eight of the final nine points, including a set-winning four-point run that was punctuated by Emily Hodsdon's kill.
 
In set four, the Terriers won the first two points and raced out to a quick 5-1 advantage. They held control the rest of the way, and a four-point run brought Wofford to set point. Though the Orange claimed the next two points, Bella Zeman smacked down the set-winning kill to force the fifth set. The tide shifted back in the favor of the Orange in that final frame, though, as Syracuse raced to the 15-10 set five triumph to claim the five-set victory over the Terriers.
 
Match Two
Wofford led almost every major statistical category over Morgan State, with the largest advantages coming in points (61-44), kills (46-32) and assists (43-31). The Terriers also earned a lead with eight aces in comparison to the five of the Bears.
 
Sarah Barham led the way with 11 kills, edging Bella Zeman's 10. Sarah MacLean was not far behind with nine. Barham and MacLean also tied for the team blocking lead with four each. Emily Hodsdon paced the team with 37 assists, and Addison Foote accrued 10 digs for the team lead. Freshman Caroline Przystup notched a squad-topping four aces, with Hodsdon close behind with three.
 
Wofford controlled the entire match, beginning with a 25-17 first-set win. Morgan State kept things tight at the beginning of the second set, even holding their first lead of the match at a 1-2 score, but the Terriers tallied a five-point run to pull away, 14-7, in the middle portion of the set. The Terriers would notch five of the set's final six points to move within a set of claiming the match.
 
The Terriers raced out of the gates in set three, earning an immediate 4-0 advantage. The Bears showed no quit, as they pushed Wofford to a 12-12 deadlock in the middle portions. That's when the youngster, Caroline Przystup, took charge. Wofford went on a five-point run to create some breathing room, with the final three points being Przystup aces, for a 17-12 lead. The Terriers were poised to close the match out with a 24-19 lead, but the Bears left it all on the court to stay alive. A six-point Morgan State run flipped the script and put the Bears atop 25-24, but Bella Zeman's kill evened the set at 25 all. From there, the squads would keep trading points with neither able to pull out to the necessary two-point edge until Annemarie Rakoski notched point 29, and then a Bear attacking error sealed the deal for the Terriers.
 
With the first non-conference tournament in the books, Wofford returns home next weekend for the first of two home tournaments inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The annual Wofford Invitational begins on Friday, Sept. 2, with Wofford playing two matches on day one. The Terriers open with a 1:00 p.m. contest against Eastern Kentucky before finishing against Appalachian State in the 7:00 p.m. nightcap.