SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Though claiming the first two sets inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium, the Wofford volleyball team saw the rival Furman Paladins push the match to a fifth set where Wofford bounced back and claimed the win (25-21, 25-16, 24-26, 16-25, 15-7) in its home SoCon opener. The Terriers improve to 9-6 and 1-2 in league play, and the Paladins fall to 4-10 with an 0-4 league mark.
 
With a win in the last meeting, 3-1 in last season's SoCon Tournament (Nov. 20, 2021), Wofford has now won back-to-back matches over Furman for the first time since 2019 in which the Terriers triumphed on Oct. 4 and Nov. 2.
 
Though blocks were even at 11 apiece, Wofford claimed the advantage in many other statistical categories. The Terriers tallied more kills (66-49), assists (62-44) and digs (67-58). The Wofford attack was also more efficient at a .276 clip with 23 errors, while the Furman attack swung at a .137 mark with 28 errors.
 
Wofford's attack was balanced behind three with double-digit kills, led by Kennedy Smith at 16. The senior also recorded 13 digs for her eighth-career double-double and first of the season. Bella Zeman and Sarah MacLean joined Smith in the double-digit kill club with 14 and 11, respectively. Sarah Barham totaled nine to just miss out.
 
Abbey Richman's 14 digs barely edged out Smith for the team lead, and she also sent home a team-leading two aces. Barham was the top net-minder with six blocks, and Victoria Hensley paced the team by dishing 35 assists. With eight digs, she was just shy of a double-double on her own end.
 
Aiding the stout and balanced Wofford attack were three Terriers tallying a hitting percentage over .300, minimum 10 attacks. Sarah MacLean led the way at a .450 clip with 11 kills on 10 swings and two errors. Millie Loehr was not far behind at .429 with seven kills on 14 attempts and one error. Bella Zeman swung at a .367 clip on 14 kills, 30 attempts and three errors. Sarah Barham's .294 mark was just shy of .300 but still solid with her nine kills on 17 swings and four errors.
 
As is the case when rivals cross path, the battle was hard-fought out of the gates. Set one featured six ties and two lead changes. A four-point run in the middle goings gave Wofford a little bit of breathing room as Sarah MacLean's kill gave the Terriers a 17-12 lead. But Furman would pull to within one twice more before Millie Loehr put down a kill, followed by two more Terrier points to claim the first set.
 
Set two had the makings of another tight one through the first half, but then the Terrier attack got hot and rattled off a six-point run for a 24-15 lead. MacLean notched a kill that gave Emily Hodsdon the serve, and then five-straight errors by the Paladins brought about set point. Though Furman got a point, Bella Zeman put down a kill to claim the set and bring the Terriers within a set of victory.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Paladins put up a fight to avoid defeat. This set saw eight ties and four lead changes. But despite being close early, Furman was beginning to get a rhythm going with a 12-7 lead. But a seven-point Wofford run flipped the script as MacLean's kill gave Abbey Richman the serve for the next six points. After an attacking error, Richman delivered an ace before Barham tallied a kill. Then the net-minders got to work to swat three consecutive blocks. First Barham combined with Smith for a tandem swat before MacLean delivered a block. She them teamed up with Barham for another combo block for a 14-12 Terrier lead. But Furman kept chipping away as the squads traded blows until Wofford held match point at 24-23. But a service error evened the score, and two more errors provided the 26-24 set three win to Furman.
 
Riding the momentum from their third set, the Paladins claimed the first five points of the fourth set. Playing from behind proved tough, as though Wofford fought back and stayed on Furman's heels the Paladins pulled away late. A five-point run made the score 22-12 in favor of the Paladins, and from there they closed out a 25-16 fourth set win to force the winner-take-all fifth frame.
 
In the deciding set, Bella Zeman took matters into her own hands to make sure Wofford bounced back as the senior delivered the first two kills of the frame. After Furman notched a point, it was Zeman who dealt the blow once more for a 3-1 edge. From there Wofford kept rolling, never relinquishing its lead. At a 13-7 advantage, Victoria Hensley delivered a kill and then an ace to close out the match and give Wofford the hard-fought victory, its first of the SoCon slate.
 
The Terriers remain home for two more matches this weekend. First, UNCG comes to town on Friday at 6:00 p.m. before Wofford welcomes Western Carolina on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.