SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team played a tight match against Mercer inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium Saturday night, but ultimately the Bears won in three sets (27-29, 23-25, 19-25). Wofford drops to 15-6 (6-4 SoCon) with the result while Mercer improves to 12-9 (8-2 SoCon).
 
Wofford recorded more digs, 58-49, while holding a tight edge in kills, 42-41. Blocks were even at seven apiece, but Mercer gained an advantage on the service line with eight aces to Wofford's three.
 
The Terrier attack was again balanced with six players owning five or more kills. Mary Emily Morgan led the charge with nine. She was just shy of a double-double, also tallying 12 digs. Addison Foote and Bri Mahoney each recorded seven kills, and Sarah MacLean and Sarah Barham both tallied six. Barham added five as one of three Terriers to hit over .300. MacLean was the most efficient at .455 with one error on 11 hits.
 
Morgan also led with two of the three Wofford aces, and Emily Hodsdon added one of her own. That ace brings Hodsdon to 112 in her career, tying her for 10^th on Wofford's all-time leaderboard. She led the team on the night with 16 assists while contributing 10 digs, recording a second-straight double-double, her sixth of the season. It was the 28^th of her career, moving Hodsdon into a tie for eighth on that Wofford all-time leaderboard.
 
Taylor Pecht was just behind Hodsdon with 15 assists. Abbey Richman added six alongside a team-high 19 digs, pushing her double-digit streak to 42 consecutive contests. Millie Loehr paced the Wofford blocking efforts with five. Sarah Barham and Addison Foote each added two.
 
The first set was a see-saw slugfest the featured 18 ties and nine lead changes. The largest lead by either squad in the set was three, done so twice by Wofford, the latest instance occurring at the 10-7 mark. But the sides kept trading blows until Mercer led 23-22 late. A Bri Mahoney kill and Sarah Barham block would swing to score to 24-23 for a Wofford set point, but Mercer clinched the next two points for its own set point. The teams went blow-for-blow a few more times in the extra points, and a Bear service error tied the score at 27-all. But a Wofford service error followed by a Bear block would seal the set for Mercer, 29-27.
 
The Bears rode that momentum to the first three points of the second set, but the Terriers responded in kind with the next four points, punctuated by a Millie Loehr-Bri Mahoney tandem block. The second set was another tight battle, this one featuring 11 ties. Mercer would pull in front 19-15, but Wofford battled back with a four-point run to pull level. Sarah Barham and Sarah MacLean each added a kill in the run, and Mary Emily Morgan highlighted it with an ace, tying the set at 19-19. The next eight points ping-ponged between the teams until Millie Loehr's kill tied the set once more at 23-23. But the Bears would then get the next two points for another close victory, 25-23.
 
The Terriers showed no quit in the third set. Needing a response, Wofford opened the frame with a 5-1 lead behind a Sarah MacLean-Millie Loehr block alongside a pair of kills by Addison Foote. But Mercer pushed back and claimed the lead before the Terriers fought back to pull level at 17-17 with a Sarah Barham kill. However, the Bears found a rhythm for four-straight points. Though a service error broke the run, Mercer had the momentum it needed to close out the set from there. With a 25-19 set three win, the Bears earned a three-set sweep.
 
Wofford returns to action with a pair of road matches next weekend. The Terriers first travel to Birmingham, Alabama, to face Samford on Friday, October 27, at 8:00 p.m. The following night, the Terriers return to the Palmetto State with a match-up in Greenville at rival Furman.