GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team returned to the win column in comeback fashion over the Furman Paladins Saturday night at Alley Gym. Led by standout performances from multiple freshmen, the Terriers improve to 16-7 and 7-5 in SoCon action with the rivalry win. Furman drops to the same record upon the defeat.
 
Though Furman doubled Wofford in aces, 8-4, the Terriers made their mark at the net with 13 blocks to the nine of the Paladins. Hitting efficiencies were close, with Furman holding a slight edge at .210 to Wofford's .204 mark. But Wofford's best hitting performance came when it mattered most with a .412 clip in the fifth set as opposed to the .105 Furman mark.
 
The Terrier attack saw three with double-digit kills and six with five or more. Mary Emily Morgan and Bri Mahoney led the way with 14 each. Mahoney's number is a new career high for the freshman, and fellow first-year Natalie Arnold recorded her first-career kills, 11 to be precise. Morgan was the most efficient on the attack as well, hitting. 364 on 33 swings with only two errors. Arnold also hit over .304 with four errors on 23 attempts for a .304 clip.
 
Sarah Barham led the blocking efforts with eight, moving her past Cindy Vinyard into second place on Wofford's all-time career leaderboard. Sarah MacLean added five blocks, and Millie Loehr contributed four.
 
With 29 assists, freshman Taylor Pecht paced the offense. Emily Hodsdon added 23 helpers of her own, and with 12 digs she recorded her 29^th career double-double and seventh of the season. Hodsdon is now tied with Shanna Hughes for seventh-most double-doubles in Wofford program history.
 
Freshman Laney Klika made her first-career start at libero, topping the squad with 25 digs. Mahoney added 13 of her own to record her second double-double.
 
Furman took control early in set one and eventually led 17-9. A Sarah Barham kill kicked off a 6-1 run for Wofford to pull the score within 18-15, but the Paladins responded and pulled away to a 25-20 set one win despite Wofford's attempts to come back.
 
The second set was a back-and-forth battle that saw 18 ties and eight lead changes. Furman led late, 19-18, before Wofford reclaimed the edge behind a three-point run. A tandem block by Sarah Barham and Sarah MacLean opened the run with Millie Loehr and Mary Emily Morgan dropping home kills thereafter. The Paladins pushed back to lead 22-21, and the teams jostled for the lead a little more from there. Loehr's kill gave Wofford set point at 24-23 before Furman tied the set once more. But Bri Mahoney responded with a kill, and Barham teamed up with Natalie Arnold on a block to ice the set, 26-24, and level the match.
 
In the middle goings of the third set, Mary Emily Morgan delivered a kill, and Laney Klika sent in an ace to pull Wofford within two points, 15-13. But a seven-point Paladin run followed to make the score 22-13. The Terriers were unable to regain footing in the frame, ultimately dropping the set 25-17.
 
With their backs against the wall, the Terriers came out in set four swinging. A 6-1 run gave Wofford an early 9-4 lead, but a seven-point Paladin swing later evened the set at 14-all. The teams traded blows from there in what became a back-and-forth bout. But it was Mary Emily Morgan who took control late in the set for Wofford, as she recorded the final three kills for the Terriers. Her first gave Wofford a 23-20 lead, and when Furman pulled within a point, she provided another for set point, 24-22. A Furman kill came in response, but then Morgan's third in succession forced a decisive fifth frame.
 
Furman held a 4-2 lead early in the fifth set, but a service error flipped control over to the Terriers. Wofford took advantage for a four-point run aided by a Taylor Pecht ace for a 6-4 advantage. Natalie Arnold book-ended a 5-1 run with kills alongside a Millie Loehr block in the middle for an 11-6 lead. The Terriers seemed poised to race to the win, but Furman fought back with three-straight point to pull within 11-9. However, Wofford used its own three-point swing to reach match point. Sarah Barham helped notch those last two points with blocks, teaming with Bri Mahoney and Sarah MacLean, respectively. A service error ended the run, but MacLean ended the next rally with a kill, securing the five-set rivalry triumph for the Terriers.
 
Wofford has concluded its road slate for the 2023 season with the final four matches on the schedule all slated at home. Next week the Terriers begin that four-match homestand with a battle against The Citadel on Thursday, November 2. The following night UNCG comes to the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Both matches are set for 6:00 p.m. starts.