CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The Wofford volleyball team wrapped up a stretch of four consecutive road matches in fashion with a straight-set sweep of Western Carolina (29-27, 25-22, 26-24) Saturday night in the Liston B. Ramsey Center. The Terriers improve to 13-5 (5-1 SoCon) with the victory as the Catamounts drop to 7-10 (1-3 SoCon).
 
The sweep marks Wofford's second in a row and fourth in the last five matches. The Terriers now own nine straight-set wins this season, two shy of last year's mark of 11.
 
Despite being out-hit .189 to .187, Wofford tallied more kills in the match, 51-38. The Terriers also own more assists, 45-34. Western Carolina held a slight edge in both aces (4-3) and blocks (13-8), but Wofford held down the back line better with 66 digs to the 63 of the Catamounts.
 
Mary Emily Morgan led the attack as one of three Terriers with double-digit kills, owning 12. Sarah MacLean and Bri Mahoney both posted 10 to join her. Bradley Brown added seven with Natalie Arnold tallying six.
 
Taylor Pecht dished 22 assists to pace the squad with Maddy Frazier close behind with 16. Laney Klika led the team with 15 digs. Morgan posted 14 for a double-double, and Frazier recorded one as well with 10 of her own. Morgan's double-double is the 14^th of her career and her sixth this season. Fraizer's is her fourth. Mahoney had nine digs to fall just shy of joining them.
 
At the net, Annemarie Rakoski and Brown led the way with four blocks each. MacLean added three. Two of Brown's blocks were solo. Caroline Przystup led the service efforts with a pair of aces, and Pecht cashed in one of her own.
 
WCU held an early 2-1 lead in set one before the Terriers hit a rhythm. Sarah MacLean tallied a kill that sparked a five-point Wofford run that she bookended with another kill. In between Bradley Brown posted a solo block with a kill added in from Mary Emily Morgan. The teams traded blows with the Catamounts chipping away to tie the set at 9-all. A Natalie Arnold kill pushed Wofford back in front, but the Catamounts responded with five-straight points to lead 14-10. Riding the wave, WCU led 18-13 shortly thereafter, but the ever-resilient Terriers began to punch back. A three-point run that ended with a Maddy Frazier dump kill pulled Wofford within two, 18-16. Western Carolina pulled back ahead to a 22-17 lead, but the Terriers notched five points in a row, highlighted by a Bri Mahoney kill and Caroline Przystup ace. Tied at 22, the squads traded the following four points to remain knotted at 24, prompting extra points. A MacLean kill gave Wofford an edge, but Western Carolina responded. A few points later, the Catamounts held the edge again at 27-26. But Morgan struck for a tying kill, and Arnold followed for another Terrier advantage. Brown then stepped up and delivered the kill for a 29-27 victory in a hard-fought and electric first set.
 
Needing a response, the Catamounts opened set two with a 7-3 lead. But again the resilient Terriers began to push back. A three-point swing would pull Wofford within one at 8-7 after Brown notched a kill and teamed with Arnold on a block, setting up a Mahoney kill. After trading a few blows, Wofford embarked on a five-point run that saw Morgan, MacLean and Rakoski each post a kill with Mahoney recording two. Leading 14-10, Wofford held firm in front as the Catamounts began to push back themselves until a five-point WCU run flipped the margin back to the Catamounts at 20-18. The script flipped again when Wofford found a three-point swing, and after a WCU point, the Terriers posted three more in a row. A Taylor Pecht ace capped that run with Wofford on set point. Following a Catamount kill, MacLean struck to end the set in favor of Wofford, 25-22.
 
The third set began with both teams flipping between three-point runs, but it was Wofford posting two of them for a 6-4 lead early. After trading some points, Annemarie Rakoski posted a kill that kicked off a five-point Terrier run. MacLean and Mahoney put forth kills before Rakoski teamed with each of them on two blocks. Wofford led 15-8, and a few points later Morgan put forth back-to-back kills to make the Terrier advantage 20-13. The Catamounts fought back and tallied a few points, but a Frazier kill, Przystup ace and Arnold kill put forth match point at 24-16. In a do-or-die situation, the Catamounts clawed back with an eight-point run to stay alive and tie the set at 24-all. However, back-to-back errors ended the run and the match, delivering a 26-24 set three win for Wofford to clinch the sweep in Cullowhee.
 
After two weeks away, the Terriers return to Spartanburg next weekend for a pair of matches against Furman and Mercer. The contest against the Paladins is set for Friday, October 18, at 6:00 p.m. inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. Wofford will then face the Bears the following night at the same time.