HOMEWOOD, Ala. – The Wofford volleyball team was locked in a fight with Samford Friday night in Pete Hanna Center, but the Terriers prevailed in four sets (25-21, 23-25, 25-21, 25-23) to secure a historic program win. The triumph lifts Wofford to 16-6 (8-2 SoCon) while dropping the Bulldogs to 12-7 (6-3 SoCon).
 
The victory marks Wofford's first over Samford in Birmingham, snapping the previous mark of 0-16. The Terriers have claimed three-straight meetings over the Bulldogs, Wofford's longest win streak ever in the head-to-head series.
 
Wofford's win came on the back of a balanced defensive and offensive performance. The Terriers tallied 71 digs in the contest to best the 65 of the Bulldogs. Despite Samford recording two more kills, 59-57, Wofford displayed better efficiency on the attack with only 19 errors on 151 attacks for a .252 hitting clip. Meanwhile, Samford posted 23 miscues in 163 swings for a .221 mark. The Bulldogs held a slight edge in assists (55-52), blocks (7-4) and aces (4-2), but the Terrier serve was much cleaner. Samford was guilty of 12 service errors with Wofford committing just seven.
 
The Terrier attack was balanced with three owning double-digit kills and five total with at least seven. Sarah MacLean and Bri Mahoney tied for the team lead with 13 each, and MacLean hit at a .321 clip with only four errors in 23 attacks. Bradley Brown added 12 kills right behind them, and her .556 hitting mark topped the squad as she made only two errors in 18 attempts. Natalie Arnold was just short of double figures with her nine kills as she hit .316 on three errors in 19 swings. Mary Emily Morgan posted seven kills right behind her.
 
Maddy Frazier led the assist efforts with 24, and Taylor Pecht contributed 18 of her own. Four Terriers tallied double-digit digs with Morgan and Mahoney leading the way at 15 apiece. Mahoney's tally combined with her kills mark her fifth double-double of the campaign, the seventh of her career. Laney Klika recorded 14 digs just behind, and Pecht added 11 to join Mahoney with a double-double. It's her 11^th this season and the 18^th of her career.
 
Annemarie Rakoski continued her strong blocking week, adding three more a night after reaching 100 in her career. Morgan, MacLean and Mahoney all added one block. Frazier and Pecht led the service efforts with each delivering one ace.
 
Set one opened as a tight battle with Wofford pulling to an 8-5 lead off back-to-back kills by Mary Emily Morgan and Sarah MacLean. Samford would win four-of-five points to pull level at 9-9, but three-straight Terrier points pushed Wofford back in front. Bri Mahoney and Bradley Brown went back-to-back to make it a 12-9 margin. Samford would stay on Wofford's heels, pulling within 19-17 before Natalie Arnold and Brown delivered kills to pull back out to 21-17. The Bulldogs kept pushing, pulling back within 21-19, but Arnold struck again. After trading a couple points, an attack error by Samford set up Morgan to deliver the set-clinching kill at 25-21.
 
Needing a response, Samford opened set two with an 8-3 lead. But Wofford fought back by winning six of the next seven points, tying the match at 9-9 with MacLean adding a pair of kills to highlight the run. The teams would then see-saw the lead from there as set two featured 16 ties and seven total lead changes. An Arnold kill tied the set at 18-all before a Samford error pushed Wofford ahead by one. The Bulldogs claimed back-to-back points before Bri Mahoney erupted for three-straight kills. However, Samford responded with four points in a row for set point, and despite a Wofford point, the Bulldogs claimed the set 25-23.
 
Wofford came out of the gates roaring in set three, posting the first four points with a pair of Bulldog errors and two Mahoney kills. Samford chipped away from there, pulling within 11-9 before Wofford began to string together more points. Mahoney added a couple kills with MacLean posting one of her own, and a solo block by Annemarie Rakoski put Wofford up 15-11. Samford kept pushing, pulling within one point 18-17. A service error helped Wofford sideout, and the Terriers took advantage with Caroline Przystup on the serve to guide a five-point run that was punctuated by kills from Arnold and Mahoney. Samford claimed three-straight points to pull within 23-20, but the Terriers tallied two of the final three to win set three 25-21.
 
One set away from history, Wofford opened set four hot with a 5-2 advantage after a kill from MacLean and two from Brown. Samford found a groove to pull ahead 9-7, but Arnold posted a kill to spark a 3-1 Wofford swing to tie the set at 10-all. Samford found its own groove to retake the lead at 15-11. The Terriers chipped away to pull within three points, but a Samford point made the margin 18-14. That was when the Terriers began to rally as Arnold and MacLean recorded back-to-back kills. This sparked what turned into an 8-2 Terrier run that saw MacLean post half of the points with her four kills. Wofford led 22-20, but Samford pulled level with two-straight points. Feeling the pressure, the Bulldogs committed an error, and Maddy Frazier then delivered an ace for match point. Though an error followed to keep Samford alive, the Bulldogs committed one of their own to ice the set 25-23 and lift Wofford to its first win over Samford in Birmingham.
 
Wofford returns home next week to begin a four-match homestand. It begins on Thursday, October 31, when The Citadel comes to Spartanburg. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m., and a bout against UNCG will follow the next night all inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.