SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team faced match point twice in the fourth set against Western Carolina Friday night in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Volleyball Championship, but the Terriers remained resilient and battled back to force a fifth set, where Wofford ultimately triumphed (20-25, 25-19, 25-11, 27-25, 25-12) inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The third-seeded Terriers improve to 21-7 with the result and advance to tomorrow's semifinals. No. 6 Western Carolina falls to 10-18 upon its elimination.
 
Though Western Carolina tallied five aces to Wofford's two, the rest of the match played quite evenly. The Catamounts tallied only two more kills (66-64) and just one more block (12-11). WCU hit .204 on the night while Wofford hit .167 as a squad.
 
The Terriers were led by three with double-digit kills, topped by Sarah MacLean and her 16. With only three errors on 36 attempts, the junior paced the club in efficiency as well. Addison Foote added 12 kills, and Mary Emily Morgan's 10 round out those in double figures. But Sarah Barham was just shy with nine, and Millie Loehr and Natalie Arnold each added seven.
 
"We have a really good passing line, and our setters make great decisions," said MacLean of her offensive success tonight. "We have other hitters that keep the focus away from just one person on our team, so it makes it easier to score in situations."
 
Defensively, Laney Klika paced the team with 33 digs to tie her career high. Foote added 16 for her third double-double of the campaign. Emily Hodsdon and Taylor Pecht recorded 12 and 10, respectively. Morgan was just short of a double-double with nine digs, and Abbey Richman contributed seven, four of which came in the key fifth set.
 
"My mindset was just, 'I got to get the ball up, and I have to do everything that I can so that we can score,'" said Richman of her clutch fifth-set performance. "So that means diving all over the place and just getting that ball up so that I put my team in a better position to score and get the next point."
 
Hodsdon dished 32 assists to top the team, and Pecht added 23 helpers. Each recorded a double-double, Pecht's the seventh of her season. Hodsdon's is the ninth of her season and the 31^st in her career. Pecht added one of the two Terrier aces alongside Foote.
 
At the net, Barham again reigned supreme with a match-high seven blocks, four of which were solo. MacLean contributed three denials.
 
The first set was a tight battle that saw 10 ties and three lead changes. A kill by Mary Emily Morgan and a Sarah Barham block put Wofford up 15-14 in the middle portions. But back-to-back Western Carolina points flipped the score, and another Barham block evened the set at 16-all. But the Catamounts responded with a five-point run, and that provided a spark to the WCU squad. Though Wofford fought back, pulling within 23-20 thanks to a Taylor Pecht ace, the Catamounts earned the final two points to win set one, 25-20.
 
Set two was more of the same with 10 ties but only two lead changes. After trading each of the first 17 points, the Terriers were the first team to get two in a row with a WCU error following Mary Emily Morgan's kill. This gave Wofford a 10-8 lead, but the advantage flipped to the Catamounts after they then went on a five-point run to lead 13-10. It was then Wofford's turn to run, as Sarah Barham went to work. Wofford went on an eight-point swing with each of the first six points coming from Barham by way of three kills and three blocks. The Terriers led 18-13, and despite WCU's late efforts, Wofford remained a step ahead to claim the set, 25-19, with a Barham kill.
 
WCU responded with a 9-2 lead early in the third set. This sparked the Catamounts, who rolled from there and won the third set 25-11 to claim a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Set four was back-and-forth early. Back-to-back kills had Wofford up 16-12 in the middle goings, and despite a service error, the Terriers embarked on a four-point run to pull ahead 20-13. The run saw Addison Foote put down three-straight kills. But the Catamounts began to chip away, pulling within 21-17. But Foote struck again, and Millie Loehr followed with her own kill to make the score 23-17. But a service error helped Western Carolina sideout, and it led to a seven-point run for the Catamounts that brought about match point with WCU ahead 24-23. A service error kept Wofford in it, but a kill on the next rally provided match point once more, 25-24. With their backs against the wall, the Terriers rallied, using a kill from Mary Emily Morgan to tie the set and stay alive. Not content with just staying alive, however, Wofford forced the Catamounts into an attack error and then a ball-handling error, claiming set four 27-25 and forcing a decisive fifth frame.
 
Neither team seemed willing to relent out of the gates in set five as the frame was tied 2-2 early. But Addison Foote broke the tie with a kill, kicking off a five-point Wofford run. Four-straight Catamount errors had Wofford up 7-2, but WCU fought back and tied the set at 9-9. The teams then traded blows until Wofford gained an edge. Tied 11-11, Sarah Barham put home a kill, and a Catamount error followed to provide some needed breathing room with a 13-11 advantage. But WCU forced a Wofford error to pull back within a point. However, Sarah MacLean's 16^th kill of the night brought about match point for the Terriers, and then Emily Hodsdon recorded her only kill of the match at the perfect time with a well-executed dumpover, catching the Catamounts off guard to ice the set and the match in favor of the Terriers.
 
"I think it's just huge for us. I think what really shined through was our ability to believe in each other," said Abbey Richman of the team's resiliency in the comeback win. "We really trusted each other, and we trusted every single person on the team. And we knew that we had the will to win the game. We fought every single point, and we just kind of made it our motivation to do it for each other. I think that's what made the difference."
 
After the quarterfinal victory, Wofford advances to tomorrow's semifinals to face No. 7 Chattanooga. The Terriers and Mocs are set to battle at 7:30 p.m. or 30 minutes directly following the conclusion of the prior match-up between No. 1 The Citadel and No. 4 Samford.