MACON, Ga. – The Wofford volleyball team took control early and never looked back Friday night in Hawkins Arena, beginning the Southern Conference slate of action with a straight-set victory (25-23, 25-16, 25-20) over the Mercer Bears. With the win, Wofford's win streak improves to six-straight matches while the Terriers now tout a 10-2 record (1-0 SoCon). Mercer drops to 4-8 (0-1 SoCon) with the result.
 
The straight-set win is Wofford's first sweep of the Bears since 2018, a home match. This is Wofford's first road sweep in Macon since the year prior, six years to the day, as the last occurrence was on September 22 in 2017.
 
Though aces were even at four apiece, Wofford topped Mercer in most other statistics. Notably, The Terriers topped the net with seven blocks to four by the Bears while also holding a 53-47 dig advantage. Efficiency was yet again a major determinant, as Wofford hit at a .259 clip with only 12 attack errors. Meanwhile, Mercer committed 23 errors on offense for a .095 hitting mark.
 
Though the Terriers had no attackers with double-digit kills, it was because of a balanced effort with five players owning five or more kills. Addison Foote led the way with nine to just miss double figures. Millie Loehr and Sarah Barham were each close behind with eight, and both were efficient as Barham had only one error while Loehr had none. This led to a .571 hitting mark for Loehr alongside Barham's .438 mark. Mary Emily Morgan and Sarah MacLean each added five kills.
 
Loehr also topped the net with four blocks. Barham added a pair, as did Emily Hodsdon. Wofford's four aces were evenly spread out as Loehr, Hodsdon, Morgan and Abbey Richman all tallied one.
 
Hodsdon dished the most assists with 18. Taylor Pecht was just behind with 16 helpers. Abbey Richman continued to hold down the Wofford defense with 20 digs, stretching her double-digit streak to 33 consecutive contests. Morgan added 10 of her own, and Foote contributed six.
 
Emily Hodsdon opened the match with an ace, but the first set would turn into a back-and-forth battle. Mercer pulled to a 15-13 lead in the middle portions, but a service error by the Bears kicked off a 6-1 swing for the Terriers. Abbey Richman added an ace, and Millie Loehr contributed a block and kill to help push Wofford to a 19-16 advantage. Sarah Barham's kill would later bring about set point, but Mercer kept fighting with a pair of points to pull within one, 24-23. However, Sarah MacLean decided enough was enough and powered home a kill to finish off the frame, 25-23, for the Terriers.
 
The second set opened with a Bear service error followed by a Mary Emily Morgan ace for an early 2-0 lead. It was another close battle until the Terriers found a major rhythm up 11-9. A 7-1 run for Wofford created an 18-10 hole that ultimately proved too much for the Bears to climb out of. The run was highlighted by a pair of Millie Loehr blocks, and she added a kill. Sarah MacLean also tallied a kill and a block in the swing. Wofford ultimately claimed five of the final seven points, with Addison Foote's kill the punctuation mark to a 25-16 set two rout.
 
Set three saw another tight beginning until a Wofford run in the middle portions created the decisive separation. Tied at 12, Ella Schomer put down a kill to spark a five-point Wofford run for a 17-12 lead. Mercer would continue to hang around, but the Bears remained just a step behind the rest of the way. Sarah Barham's block created match point at 24-19. Though a Mercer kill kept the contest alive, Millie Loehr followed with her own kill to ice the match for the Terriers, a three-set sweep.
 
Wofford concludes its conference-opening weekend with a road match at Chattanooga tomorrow evening. First serve against the Mocs is set for 4:00 p.m., and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.