GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team finished off the regular season on a high note, dispatching the rival Furman Paladins in four sets (25-19, 25-19, 23-25, 25-23) Saturday afternoon at Alley Gym. Wofford improves to 20-8 (12-4 SoCon) with the triumph as Furman falls to 13-13 (7-8 SoCon).
 
The 20^th win marks back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time at the Division I level in program history, and it's just third overall at the D-I level. With a 12-4 league mark, the Terriers have now posted their best SoCon record ever.
 
Though many of the statistical categories in the match were relatively close, the Terriers controlled the net with authority to ride blocking to victory. Wofford posted 18 blocks to just the eight of Furman, marking a season high for denials and a tie for the fourth most in a four-set match in program history. The Terriers hit .231 on the day compared to the .135 clip of the Paladins. Wofford recorded 84 digs, topping the 74 of Furman. Otherwise, the Terriers held edges in kills (62-52), assists (59-51) and aces (4-3).
 
Sarah MacLean led the attack with 17 kills on a .484 hitting clip with just two errors in 31 attacks. Bri Mahoney was just behind with a career-high 16 kills, and Natalie Arnold just missed double figures with nine kills, hitting .368 with two errors on 19 swings. Chloe Smith posted eight kills, and Bradley Brown hit an even .500 with seven kills and just one miscue in 12 attacks.
 
Taylor Pecht and Maddy Frazier fed the attack with 28 and 21 assists, respectively. Pecht added 10 digs for her 14^th double-double of the campaign and the 21^st of her career. Laney Klika led the dig efforts with 24, and Smith added a career-best 18. Mahoney tallied 10 for her second-straight contest with a double-double, marking the 10^th of her career and her eighth this season. Klika tallied two aces to lead the squad.
 
Leading the charge at the net was reigning SoCon Defensive Player of the Week Annemarie Rakoski, who posted a career-high 10 blocks, six of which were solo. Thos 10 blocks are the most by a Terrier since Sarah Barham notched 11 in last season's SoCon Championship. She is tied for the third-highest block total in a four-set match in program history. Not to be outdone, Brown posted six blocks of her own, and Mahoney added a career-high four.
 
After a close start to the first set, Wofford caught fire with a 5-1 run to pull ahead 9-6. The run was highlighted by a pair of kills from Bri Mahoney with Maddy Frazier and Bradley Brown each adding one. The Paladins pushed back with a four-point swing to pull back in front 10-9, but Wofford responded with its own four-point run, highlighted by a Mahoney and Annemarie Rakoski tandem block. Furman tried to chip away, but Sarah MacLean and Brown teamed for a block to kick start a 7-1 Wofford run that pushed the Terriers in front 23-15. The run saw three Wofford blocks, including a solo stuff by Brown. Though Furman gave a late comeback push, the Terriers reached set point with an Arnold-Brown block, and a point later Chloe Smith sent home a kill to win the set 25-19.
 
Furman controlled the second set early 7-3 before Wofford began to push back. A four-point run in the middle goings saw MacLean post a pair of kills, aiding in Wofford pulling ahead by one point, 12-11. After trading points, the set was tied at 15-all before Wofford hit a stride. An error helped the Terriers sideout, and Mahoney's ensuing kill marked the beginning of an eight-point run with Wofford up 23-15. The run saw three blocks from Rakoski with her also posting a kill. Though Furman gave a late push once more, the Terriers held firm with Mahoney posting the clinching kill for another 25-19 set score.
 
A tight third set saw back-to-back Rakoski denials push Wofford in front 10-9 early. However, Furman hit a groove in the middle portions with a six-point run to lead 17-12. Wofford chipped away, pulling within 22-21 after a three-point run with kills by Arnold and Rakoski. Furman tallied two kills to reach set point, but the Terriers refused to quit with Mahoney posting a kill and ace for a 24-23 score. However, a Paladin kill followed to help Furman claim the set, 25-23.
 
Furman led 6-2 early in the fourth set, but a Smith kill sparked a six-point Terrier run that featured blocks by Smith and Brown for an 8-6 Wofford lead. The Paladins chipped away to pull in front 12-11, but Rakoski went wild on the block with three straight to push her Terriers in front once more at 14-12. The Paladins kept pace, pulling the set level four more times, the last such instance at 20-20. But Mahoney notched a kill, and Caroline Przystup sent in an ace for a 22-20 Wofford edge. Though the Paladins pulled within one, Wofford remained a step ahead the rest of the way. MacLean's kill created set point, and Furman would pull within one on the following rally before committing an error to end the match with Wofford taking set four 25-23.
 
With the regular season concluded, Wofford will enter the Southern Conference Tournament next week as the No. 2 seed. The Terriers will play their opening contest against No. 7 Chattanooga at 4:30 p.m. The tournament will be hosted inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium.