AUBURN, Ala. – The Wofford volleyball team opened the 2024 campaign by splitting its first two matches in the War Eagle Invitational Friday at Neville Arena, first falling to Georgia Southern in four sets (22-25, 24-26, 25-11, 12-25) before downing North Alabama in a five-set slugfest (25-27, 25-14, 25-23, 17-25, 15-11). The Terriers are now 1-1 to begin the season.
 
Match One
The Terriers were stellar at the net against the Eagles with 10 blocks against GSU's eight. Digs were even at 85 apiece, and Wofford held a slight advantage in assists, 48-47. But the Eagles owned one more ace, 3-2, and two more kills, 51-49. GSU held a slightly higher hitting percentage at .184 compared to the .150 mark of the Terriers.
 
Wofford was led offensively by two with double-digit kills, highlighted by the 13 of Sarah MacLean. With just three errors and 33 attempts, the senior hit .333 in the contest while adding seven digs.

Freshman Bradley Brown made her collegiate debut in style with 10 kills and six blocks, which led all players in the match. Half of her denials were solo, and she added an ace with four digs.
 
Taylor Pecht recorded a double-double with a team-high 25 assists and 16 digs. It was the eighth double-double of her career. Freshman Maddy Frazier contributed 14 helpers in her debut.
 
Laney Klika held down the defense with 24 digs while adding an ace. Joining Pecht with 16 digs were Mary Emily Morgan and Bri Mahoney. Those 16 digs marked new career highs for both Mahoney and Pecht. Morgan fell just one kill shy of a double-double with nine.

Annemarie Rakoski had a career day with eight kills to notch a new career best. She added four blocks, tying her career high.
 
The first set was a see-saw battle the whole way through. Mary Emily Morgan opened the match with a kill, and Wofford held an early 3-1 lead. Despite GSU battling back to tie the set at 11, Wofford went on a four-point run punctuated by a Sarah MacLean and Annemarie Rakoski block to lead 15-11. The Eagles would chip away and pull ahead at 20-19 before Rakoski's kill tied the set once more. After trading blows, the Terriers pulled within one at 23-22 thanks to Morgan's kill, but the Eagles secured the next two points to claim set one 25-22.
 
Set two was another tight battle, but the Eagles held firm control early. After leading 9-3 in the beginning, Wofford started to chip away and eventually claimed six-straight points to tie the set at 12-all with a kill by Morgan. The teams traded blows from there with Wofford taking a 21-20 lead after a GSU attack error. The Eagles notched three points in a row to lead 23-21, but Wofford responded with its own three-point rally to reach set point at 24-23 by way of a Morgan kill, Bradley Brown block and GSU error. But three was again the crucial number when the Eagles claimed the following three rallies to take set two 26-24.
 
The third set had all the makings of another tight battle as the Eagles led 10-9. However, Wofford tied the set after a GSU error and led after Morgan notched a kill. This sparked what became an 11-point run for Wofford, which featured Brown settling in to contribute to six of the points with four kills and two blocks. The run was punctuated by a Laney Klika ace to make the margin 21-10. The Eagles sputtered from there, and Wofford claimed the set 25-11.
 
Set four saw the teams jostling for control early before the Eagles found a rhythm and pulled ahead 10-4. A service error provided a point to Wofford, but GSU responded with five-straight points to take a 15-5 advantage. Despite Sarah MacLean providing a pair of kills and a block in the comeback attempt, the Terriers were unable to regain their footing as GSU claimed the set 25-12 and the match in four frames.
 
Match Two
Wofford outlasted North Alabama in a five-set thriller despite the Lions holding a 6-1 advantage in aces alongside two more blocks (8-6). The Terriers, however, topped UNA in kills (68-56), assists (61-48) and digs (80-62). Both teams displayed quality offense with hitting percentages of .200 or better. The Lions hit that mark exactly, but the Terriers hit a whopping .265 in the contest.
 
A quartet of Terriers recorded double-digit kills to power the offense, led by freshman Chloe Smith in her collegiate debut. She tallied 15 kills with a .308 hitting clip. Sarah MacLean posted 13 kills, and Mary Emily Morgan and Annemarie Rakoski both notched 10. Rakoski's mark set a new career high, topping the previous number she achieved in the afternoon's first match. Natalie Arnold and Bradley Brown both fell just short of double figures with nine and eight kills, respectively.
 
Taylor Pecht dished a career-best 34 assists to guide the hitters, and freshman Maddy Brown contributed 22 helpers of her own. She also recorded the team's lone ace of the evening.
 
The match truly belonged to the freshmen as newcomers Brown and Smith led the blocking efforts with three each. MacLean and Rakoski each added two.
 
A trio of Terriers recorded double-doubles in the contest with their defensive displays. Morgan notched the ninth of her career with her team-high 19 digs. Pecht added 15 for her ninth double-double after recording one in the afternoon's opener against Georgia Southern. Smith scooped 12 digs for a double-double in her debut, and Laney Klika's 14 digs marked four Terriers in double figures.
 
Set one set a tone for the match as a tight back-and-forth battle. The teams jostled for the lead with the largest separation being UNA's four-point advantage at 18-14. But a four-point Terrier rally, powered by a pair of Chloe Smith kills, tied the set at 18-all. The teams continued to trade blows, and Bradley Brown tied the set once more at 24 with a kill. After a Lion point, Maddy Frazier recorded a kill to retie the set, but back-to-back points provided UNA the set at 27-25.
 
Set two was close in the early portions with Wofford leading 11-10 after a UNA kill. However, the Terriers used a six-point run to pull away, led by a pair of kills from Mary Emily Morgan. Sarah MacLean capped the run with a kill to make the score 16-11. The Lions would falter after pulling within 20-14, as the next five points all went to the Terriers with Brown aiding in each of the final three (two blocks and a kill). Wofford leveled the match at one set apiece.
 
The third set was also evenly contested as neither squad owned a lead greater than two. Annemarie Rakoski teamed up with Smith for a block to provide Wofford a 20-18 lead, but the Lions would secure the next two points to tie the set. Wofford took advantage of UNA's mistakes, as three of the next four points went to the Terriers by way of Lion errors. A UNA kill pulled the Lions within one at 23-22, but Rakoski summoned set point with a kill. The Lions notched one of their own, but a service error handed the set to Wofford, 25-23.
 
One set from victory, the Terriers trailed 19-16 late, pulling closer with a Rakoski kill. But the Lions found a rhythm to rattle off a four-point run and lead 23-16. Laney Klika secured a kill to keep Wofford alive, but the following two points went to UNA for a 25-17 set four margin, forcing the decisive fifth frame.
 
Sarah MacLean opened the fifth set with a kill for an early Wofford advantage. The Lions rallied to take a 4-2 lead, but the Terriers responded with three-straight points, including a Maddy Frazier ace, to retake the lead. After trading some points, Bradley Brown provided a kill for an 8-7 lead, but the Lions took the next two points to flip the margin to 9-8 in their favor. A service error helped Wofford sideout, and it sparked a five-point Terrier run. A bad set by the Lions gave way to a MacLean kill, and two more errors pushed the Wofford lead to 13-9. The Lions tallied a pair of points, but it was too little, too late. Chloe Smith delivered match point with a kill, and Annemarie Rakoski's ensuing strike ended the match and secured the five-set victory for Wofford.
 
After splitting a pair of contests to open the season in the War Eagle Invitational, Wofford will conclude its stint in the event tomorrow afternoon by facing the host Auburn. The match against the Tigers is set to begin at 2:00 p.m.