BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Wofford volleyball team fought hard inside the Pete Hanna Center Friday night, but ultimately the Samford Bulldogs won in three sets (20-25, 23-25, 18-25). With the result, Wofford falls to 15-7 (6-5 SoCon) while Samford improves to 11-13 (6-6 SoCon).
 
The Bulldogs utilized their offense for the victory, hitting .303 to Wofford's .160 mark. Samford owned 53 kills to the 27 of the Terriers. Blocks were even at four apiece while digs were almost even with Samford owning a slight edge, 45-44. Wofford played a cleaner match at the service line with only three errors to the 14 of Samford, but the Bulldogs sent in seven aces to the four of Wofford.
 
The Terrier attack was led by Sarah Barham, Millie Loehr and Mary Emily Morgan, who each notched five kills. Loehr was the most efficient with only one error on 11 swings for a .364 hitting clip.
 
Wofford's four aces were split evenly between Morgan and Abbey Richman, each of whom delivered two. Morgan also paced the blocking efforts with three swats. Loehr added two, and Barham contributed one.
 
Taylor Pecht recorded her fifth double-double, leading the team with 11 assists. The freshman's 11 digs sealed the double-double effort. Emily Hodsdon dished seven assists, moving her career total to 2,662, surpassing the 2,657 of Jennifer Nodine for sixth most on Wofford's career leaderboard.
 
Abbey Richman extended her double-digit dig streak to 43 matches with a team-best 15 digs. Pecht's 11 were right behind, and Morgan added eight of her own.
 
Wofford opened the match with the first three points after two Samford attack errors preceded a Sarah MacLean kill. But Samford fought back and eventually pulled to an 18-12 lead. Addison Foote's kill started a three-point Wofford run as the Terriers fought to within three points, 15-18, punctuated with an Addison Foote-Sarah Barham tandem block. However, the Bulldogs stayed a step ahead in the set, as despite Mary Emily Morgan's solo block late, a Samford kill sealed the 25-20 score in favor of the Bulldogs.
 
Set two was back-and-forth to start, but a three-point Wofford run gave the Terriers a 12-7 lead. The Bulldogs fought back to tie the set at 12-all, but a service error put the ball in the hands of Mary Emily Morgan, who delivered an ace for the 14-12 lead. But the set continued to see-saw, as Sarah Barham notched a kill for a 19-18 lead before two Bulldog points swung the score to 20-19 in their favor. The squads would continue to trade blows with neither side able to establish separation. Barham sent home another kill to tie the contest at 23-23, but the Bulldogs responded with the next two points to edge out the set, 25-23.
 
Needing to respond, the Terriers pulled within a point thanks to an Abbey Richman ace and Millie Loehr kill, making the score 7-8. A three-point run later put Wofford ahead, 13-12, aided by a Mary Emily Morgan kill and ace combo. But the Bulldogs responded with seven of the following nine points for a 19-15 lead, though. Wofford could not regain its footing from there, and Samford earned a 25-18 set three victory and the match.
 
The Terriers return to the Palmetto State tomorrow for their final road match of the regular season. Wofford battles rival Furman at 7:00 p.m. in Greenville before returning home for a four-match homestand to conclude the regular season.