CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team pushed The Citadel Bulldogs to the limit Saturday night in McAllister Field House, but the Bulldogs came away with the four-set win (31-29, 26-28, 21-25, 23-25) in a battle between the Southern Conference heavyweights. Wofford is now 14-3 (5-1 SoCon) with the result while The Citadel is 18-0 (6-0 SoCon) after the contest.
 
Wofford was better at blocking, 9-7, while The Citadel tallied more kills, 71-61. The match was rather even elsewhere, as the Bulldogs owned a slight advantage in hitting percentage at .237 to Wofford's .235. The Bulldogs also had a slight ace advantage, 8-6.
 
The Terriers were led by three with double-digit kills and six with at least eight. Addison Foote topped the squad with 13. She was followed by Sarah Barham with 12 and Mary Emily Morgan with 10. Bri Mahoney added nine, and Millie Loehr and Sarah MacLean each recorded eight.
 
Four Terriers notched a double-double in the contest. Foote recorded her second of the season with 17 digs to go with her 13 kills. Morgan added 11 digs to her 10 kills for her third of the season and second in a row after recording one last night as well. She is the first Terrier with back-to-back double-doubles this season. Both setters recorded 26 assists to lead the team. Emily Hodsdon posted 19 digs for her team-leading fourth double-double of the season, the 26^th of her career. She is now tied for 10^th-most in a career in Wofford history. Freshman Taylor Pecht added 11 digs for her third double-double.
 
Sarah Barham paced the blocking efforts with five a night after reaching 400 for her career. Millie Loehr tallied four to reach 200 in her career, marking back-to-back nights with a Terrier recording a blocking milestone.
 
Abbey Richman stretched her streak of double-digit digs to 38 consecutive matches with a team-best 23 digs. She also led the service efforts with three aces. Morgan tallied two as the only other Terrier with multiple.
 
Set one set a tone for the match as a back-and-forth battle between the league's top squads. The first frame featured 21 ties and nine lead changes. A four-point Bulldog run provided a 22-20 edge for The Citadel late, but Wofford responded with three-straight points to pull ahead by one, 23-22. The run was capped by a Sarah MacLean and Millie Loehr tandem block. The Citadel won the next two points for set point, but Wofford capitalized on an error to pull even at 24-all. The sides continued to trade a flurry of blows until with the score tied at 29-29, MacLean put down a kill for set point, and Addison Foote came up clutch with the set-clinching kill to end a 31-29 thriller.
 
The Bulldogs came out strong in set two with the first three points, but the Terriers responded in kind with the next four points, a run that featured two Mary Emily Morgan aces. Later in the set, The Citadel pulled within a point behind a three-point swing before Addison Foote notched a kill to create some separation, 23-21. But a pair of Bulldog points evened the frame. Sarah Barham tallied a kill for set point, but The Citadel fought back with the next two points. Bri Mahoney kept things alive with a kill. Despite an error, Morgan added a kill of her own to tie the set again, 26-26. However, the Bulldogs hit a stride at the right time for the next two points and a set two win, 28-26.
 
Set three saw Wofford come out hot with the first three points, highlighted by a Taylor Pecht ace. But The Citadel fought back and later used a four-point run to pull ahead, 12-10. The Terriers pushed back and used a Bri Mahoney kill to take a 16-15 lead in the middle portions, but the Bulldogs found a rhythm and won six of the next seven points to lead, 21-17. The Terriers fought back to pull within two, 23-21, behind kills from Sarah Barham and Addison Foote, but a pair of Bulldog kills claimed the set, 25-21, to pull The Citadel a set away from a win.
 
Showing no quit, the Terriers opened the fourth set with a Sarah Barham kill before she teamed with Mary Emily Morgan on a block. But the sides kept jostling back-and-forth with neither able to gain a steady footing with a lead, as the fourth set saw 15 ties. The Citadel used a three-point run to pull ahead late, 21-18. But Bri Mahoney put down a kill before a Bulldog error to pull Wofford within one, 21-20. The Citadel claimed a pair, but Wofford fought back to tie the set at 23-23 behind two Millie Loehr kills. However, The Citadel would claim the next two points to finish the set and win the match.
 
After tonight's hard-fought battle, the Terriers will continue their four-match road trip next week. First, Wofford faces Western Carolina on Thursday, October 12. First serve in Cullowhee, North Carolina, is set for 6:00 p.m. Wofford then makes its way up the mountains to Johnson City, Tennessee, for a Friday night match against ETSU.