WACO, Texas – The back-to-back SoCon Champion Wofford volleyball team is set for its first-round NCAA Tournament match-up tomorrow night against No. 4 Baylor. The Terriers and Bears are due to face off at 8:00 p.m. ET inside the Ferrell Center with the match streamed on ESPN+. This is Wofford's second NCAA Tournament appearance in program history after first making the field last season.
 
Match-Up Information
Opponent: No. 4 Baylor Bears (22-7, 14-4 Big 12)
Location: Ferrell Center – Waco, Texas
Date/Time: Thursday, December 5, at 8:00 p.m. ET
Broadcast: ESPN+ - https://www.espn.com/watch/player/_/id/a55e09ec-295c-4ad7-b277-6f549c38c968
Tickets: https://baylorbears.evenue.net/events/VBPS
 
Ticketing
Fans wishing to attend the match can purchase tickets through the link listed above. All-session passes and single-match tickets are available.
 
On-Campus Watch Party
Wofford Student Involvement is hosting a watch party for the match on campus in the Tony White Theater in the Mungo Center. Students and other fans on campus are encouraged to attend to watch the match at 8:00 p.m. and cheer on the Terriers.
 
Scouting the Bears
Wofford and Baylor are meeting for the first time ever. This is also Wofford's first-ever match in the state of Texas or in the month of December. The Bears tally 12.85 kills per set with 11.20 assists per set on offense. Defensively, Baylor posts 2.38 blocks per set and 14.96 digs per set. Baylor is third in the Big 12 in blocks per set, led by Alicia Andrew at 0.96. Lauren Briseno anchors the defense with 4.21 digs per set, fifth in the Big 12. Elise McGhee is the leading attacker for the Bears with 3.80 kills per set, sixth in the Big 12.
 
Back-to-Back
Wofford repeated as Southern Conference Tournament champion with a reverse sweep comeback triumph over No. 1 seed Mercer in the title tilt. This marks Wofford's second conference championship in program history. The volleyball Terriers are the first women's team sport at Wofford to win two, let alone go back-to-back. At 23-8, the Terriers have claimed their third 20-win season at the D-I level. It marks the first time at the D-I level that Wofford has posted back-to-back 20-win campaigns after also tallying 23 last season, a D-I era record for wins. With a 12-4 conference record, Wofford has posted its best ever SoCon result, topping last season's mark of 11-5, which was then a record as well. Though Wofford fell just short of the regular season crown, the Terriers still secured the No. 2 seed for the SoCon Tournament. That second-place finish is the best for the Terriers in program history.
 
A Historic Senior Class
Wofford's three seniors of Sarah MacLean, Mary Emily Morgan, and Mad Wilson have been a historic and trend-setting class. This senior class has won 79 matches over four seasons and claimed the program's first two SoCon Tournament Championships and as such the program's first two NCAA Tournament appearances. This class also added the program's first-ever victory over a ranked team by defeating No. 15 Tennessee at home on September 16, 2024. The 79 wins make this class the winningest four-year class in Wofford's Division I era. They have topped the prior mark of 69 wins set by the 2015-18 class.
 
Can You Dig It?
The Terriers are one of the best defensive teams in the nation, posting 18.54 digs per set to rank fifth in the country. Wofford's 2,206 total team digs are good for third in the nation. This is a new single-season program record, topping the prior mark of 2,151 from 2008.The digging success is due to a balanced defensive effort with four Terriers totaling at least 280 digs, three of whom own a digs per set clip of at least 3.00. As one of the best liberos in the country, Laney Klika is anchoring the defense with 5.23 digs per set, best in the conference and eighth in the nation. Her 601 total digs are ninth nationally and third in the SoCon. Klika's season is one of the best digging campaigns ever compiled in a Wofford uniform. Her 601 digs are currently third most in a season in program history as she continues to climb those ranks. Her 5.23 digs per set mark is currently third best in a season in Wofford history as she eyes the record of Brittany Thompson's 5.59 mark in 2008. Mary Emily Morgan checks in with 365 total digs, 13th in the conference. Her digs per set mark is 3.23. Bri Mahoney is 15th in the league with 335 total digs while adding a digs per set clip of 3.25. Taylor Pecht checks in with 284 total digs at a rate of 2.56 per set. Klika was named the SoCon Libero of the Year, the first Terrier to ever earn the honor. She also tallied All-SoCon Second Team recognition.
 
Annemarie's Block Party
Junior middle blocker Annemarie Rakoski is having a career season in 2024 as a regular starter.
Rakoski touts 133 total denials to lead the SoCon and rank 59th in the country. Her 1.13 blocks per set mark is second in the league by minute decimal points to ETSU's Abbey Thomas, also at 1.13. Rakoski owns nine matches this season with at least five blocks and 18 with at least four, including a career-high 10 swats at Furman. Rakoski has ended the regular season on a heater, recording 32 blocks over the final four matches of the campaign to enter the SoCon Tournament. Half of those were solo with 16. After back-to-back matches of nine blocks against Western Carolina and ETSU to conclude the home slate, she posted four at Mercer. Rakoski then bounced back with a whopping 10 rejections at Furman in the regular season finale, a new career high and the most by a Terrier since Sarah Barham's 11 in the 2023 SoCon Championship against Samford. The junior tallied her 100th career block on October 24 at Chattanooga. She was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Week on November 11. She is just 13 blocks shy of Wofford's single-season record, which is 146 set last season by Sarah Barham. Rakoski is currently fifth on Wofford's single-season leaderboard.
 
Break Out the Brooms
Wofford tallied 11 straight-set sweeps in each of the last two seasons, doing so in both 2022 and 2023. The 11 sweeps in 2022 were the most for the Terriers in a single season since posting 11 straight-setters in 2017, and the Terriers repeated the feat last season. The Terriers own 14 straight-set wins thus far in 31 matches played. This includes a streak of 13 consecutive sets won between September 6-13, the most for the team since claiming 15 in a row last September. With those 14 sweeps, Wofford has broken its record for sweeps in a season at the Division I level. The previous high was 13 in 2009.
 
Honors and Awards
The Southern Conference announced its postseason award winners before the SoCon Tournament. Laney Klika was tabbed as the SoCon Libero of the Year, the first Terrier to ever earn the honor. Sarah MacLean was named a First-Team All-SoCon honoree. She went on to be named as the Most Outstanding Player of the SoCon Tournament. The All-SoCon Second Team featured Klika and Mary Emily Morgan. Bradley Brown was honored on the SoCon All-Freshman Team for her breakout rookie campaign. Klika added another honor in joining MacLean on the SoCon All-Tournament Team with Bri Mahoney rounding out the trio of recognized Terriers. Taylor Pecht was tabbed as the Pinnacle Award winner for the event as the owner of the highest GPA on the championship squad.
 
Lone Star Connections
Despite the distance between Texas and South Carolina, the Terriers are building connections to the Lone Star State. Sophomore Natalie Arnold is a native of Austin and attended Dripping Springs High School. She will return to her home state for this match, with Waco just approximately 102 miles from her hometown. Two more Texans are set to join the team next season, as incoming signees for 2025 Caroline Cannon and Ella Coleman are natives of Dallas and Boerne, respectively.
 
The opening-round match is set for 8:00 p.m. ET tomorrow night. It will follow the opening match of the sub-regional featuring No. 5 Dayton and South Carolina. The winners of the two contests will play in round two Friday night, also at 8:00 p.m. ET.