SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Behind a steady attack, the Wofford volleyball team earned another straight-set triumph (26-24, 25-18, 25-14) over the Samford Bulldogs inside Jerry Richardson Stadium Friday night. The Terriers improve to 13-2 (4-0 SoCon) while extending their win streak to nine-straight matches. Samford drops to 6-9 (1-2 SoCon) with the result.
 
At four consecutive victories to open SoCon action, Wofford has posted its best start to SoCon play in program history. The 13-2 overall record matches the 2009 squad for best start to a season in program history. The Terriers have won back-to-back contests over Samford for just the second time and first since 2017. The sweep over the Bulldogs is Wofford's first since that 2017 campaign.
 
Attacking efficiency yet again proved pivotal, as Wofford committed only six errors on the night en route to a .333 hitting clip. Meanwhile, Samford was guilty of 19 errors for a .189 mark. Wofford outhit Samford in each set, including a staggering .480 to .107 margin in the third frame.
 
"Honestly, I attribute it to our defense and our setters," said Sarah Barham of the hitting efficiency. "I said it last night – our defenders are digging to target, so our setters are able to put us in really good positions to score. And our hitters are being really smart. It's just an overall team effort of being really focused."
 
The Terriers also out-blocked the Bulldogs by a wide margin, 8-2. Though Samford notched more assists, 34-29, and barely out-dug Wofford, 38-36, the Terriers owned the service line. Wofford recorded nine aces compared to the four of Samford, and the Bulldogs were tagged with four more service errors, 12-8.
 
Wofford's steady attack was due to a balanced effort, led by Millie Loehr with nine kills. Sarah Barham was close behind with eight, and Addison Foote added five. Barham and Loehr were both errorless on the night, hitting .615 and .562, respectively.
 
Emily Hodsdon led the service efforts with four aces, and Loehr and Mary Emily Morgan each added a pair. Hodsdon also led with 13 assists, and Taylor Pecht dished 10 of her own to reach double figures as well.
 
At the net, Barham topped the team with four blocks. Loehr and Foote were each close behind with three apiece.
 
Abbey Richman again anchored the defense with 11 digs, her 36^th match in a row with double-digits. Morgan added eight alongside five by Hodsdon.
 
"The defense has been amazing," said Emily Hodsdon. "When we have good defense, I'm able to run the middles, run the right sides, run the outsides and get a good in-system ball to make sure all the all the hitters have one or no blocks every single time."
 
Set one was a back-and-forth fight, totaling 11 ties and five lead changes. Wofford utilized some runs to overcome Samford leads, first using a four-point swing to bounce back from a 9-6 deficit. A pair of Emily Hodsdon aces capped it with Wofford ahead 10-9. The Terriers again used a four-point swing later in the set to pull ahead, 16-13, but Samford then used a four-point run of its own to reclaim a lead, 20-18. The Bulldogs would later lead 23-21 before the Terriers hit another stride, sparked by a Sarah Barham kill. Addison Foote notched one of her own before teaming with Millie Loehr on a block to force set point. However, the Bulldogs stayed alive with a kill to even the set at 24-all. That's when Wofford forced Samford into mistakes, as the Terriers took advantage of a service error and bad set to claim the first set, 26-24.
 
"We know that we can still play our game. We don't need to freak out," said Millie Loehr of the team's tenacity in the comeback first set win. "There's no panic. Just play one pass at a time and you can just control the game. Always keep it in your control. And then that's how we keep winning."
 
The second set had the makings of another see-saw tilt early until Wofford hit a rhythm from which it would not look back. Leading by a point, 6-5, Millie Loehr put home a kill to kick-start a six-point run that featured a pair of Annemarie Rakoski kills with a Loehr ace, stretching the Terrier advantage to 12-5. But Samford chipped away and pulled within two points at 20-18. However, the Bulldogs stumbled, committing two errors. Wofford took advantage again, as Addison Foote delivered an ace before Loehr's kill created set point. Mary Emily Morgan stepped up with the set-clinching kill, icing a five-point swing to close the 25-18 set two win.
 
Samford gave its last-ditch fight early in set three, tying the score five times. But Wofford would not allow the Bulldogs to claim a lead, as a Mary Emily Morgan kill broke an 8-8 tie and began a six-point Wofford run that effectively ended the match. An Emily Hodsdon ace preceded three-straight Sarah Barham points (two kills and a block, assisted by Sarah MacLean), and a Bulldog error capped the run with Wofford ahead 14-8. The Terriers steadily built upon their lead, and the Bulldogs were unable to keep stride. A four-point swing pulled Wofford within two points of victory before Samford tallied back-to-back kills, making the score 23-14. Mad Wilson then delivered a kill for match point, and Millie Loehr closed the contest emphatically with an ace for the fourth-straight Terrier sweep.
 
"It feels really good," said Barham of the back-to-back home wins. "We've been on the road for a while, it feels like, so coming back home and seeing the home crowd and the energy was really fun and it really drove us to sweep all of our sets this weekend. And we're just focused on taking it on the road next week."
 
Wofford begins a four-match road swing next weekend beginning with a trip to Greensboro, North Carolina, to battle UNCG. The match against the Spartans is set for 6:00 p.m. on Friday, October 6. The Terriers then travel to The Citadel the following night for a 7:00 p.m. start in Charleston, South Carolina.