BOONE, N.C. – It was another hard-fought effort for the Wofford volleyball team Saturday afternoon at Holmes Convocation Center, but the Terriers dropped a five-set match (25-16, 18-25, 25-17, 18-25, 12-15) to the Appalachian State Mountaineers in the Black and Gold Invitational. Both teams move to 5-4 after the contest.
 
The match was about as even as it possibly could be across all statistics. Kills were level at 58 for both teams with App State dishing two more assists, 53-51. Aces were also square at four apiece, and the Mountaineers held a slight 13-12 blocking advantage. But the Terriers totaled two more digs, 79-77. Wofford also hit better with a .192 hitting clip to the .189 mark of App State.
 
Wofford's offense was paced by four with double-digit kills, led by Bri Mahoney's career-high-tying 14. She added 16 digs, also matching her career best, to notch her second-straight double-double and the fourth of her career. Bradley Brown posted 12 kills for a new career high. Mary Emily Morgan and Sarah MacLean each tallied 11 kills with Morgan adding 14 digs for her third double-double of the season and the 11^th of her career. Brown was the most efficient Terrier, notching a .455 hitting clip with only two errors on 22 attempts.
 
Maddy Frazier led the way with a career-best 24 assists as Tayor Pecht was right behind with 22 helpers of her own. Pecht added 14 digs to mark three total Terriers with a double-double. It was the fifth of the season for Pecht and the 12^th of her career.
 
Laney Klika recorded a team-high 19 digs. Mahoney, Pecht and Morgan marked four total in double figures. MacLean and Brown held down the net with five blocks apiece. Annemarie Rakoski was right behind with four.
 
The four Wofford aces were dispersed evenly with Klika, Mahoney, Pecht and Morgan each tallying one.
 
App State led the first set 4-3 early before Wofford rallied to claim seven of the next eight points. Bradley Brown's kill sparked a four-point run, and despite an App State kill the Terriers notched the following three points. Brown posted three kills in the swing with Bri Mahoney contributing two for Wofford to take a 10-5 lead. The Terriers held the Mountaineers at bay, utilizing a four-point run later to pull ahead 22-13 behind a pair of Sarah MacLean kills. After trading a couple points, back-to-back kills by Mary Emily Morgan and MacLean sealed the set 25-16 for the Terriers.
 
App State responded with an early five-point run in set two for a 6-2 lead. A four-point swing later made the Mountaineer advantage 14-6. The Terriers began to chip away, eventually pulling within 20-16 behind kills by Natalie Arnold and Mahoney. But the initial deficit proved too much as the Mountaineers claimed five of the final seven points in the set to level the match with a 25-18 set two triumph.
 
It was Wofford's turn for an early run in set three as the Terriers pulled ahead quickly 5-1. Laney Klika posted an ace to compliment kills by MacLean, Brown, Morgan and Annemarie Rakoski. But App State would push back to claim a 7-6 lead, setting up a see-saw of a set. Mahoney would later tie the set, sparking a 6-1 run for the Terriers that saw the margin jump to 14-10 in favor of Wofford. The run was punctuated with a block by Taylor Pecht and MacLean. The Mountaineers pushed back to within 16-14, but Brown added a kill, and Morgan posted an ace thereafter. After trading some points, App State notched a kill to pull within 22-17. But the Terriers marched to a set win with a pair of Mountaineer errors giving way to a Mahoney ace for the 25-17 margin.
 
Set four was another tightly contested battle. App State led 12-10 before an error set up a Morgan kill to tie it up. The Mountaineers gained a slight edge and pulled ahead to 18-15, but Brown's kill kept things close. The sides traded a point each before App State notched three in a row to lead 22-17. Arnold's kill kept Wofford in striking distance, but the Mountaineers found a rhythm and secured the final three points to take the set 25-18.
 
App State carried the momentum into set five, claiming an early 6-1 lead. Wofford showed plenty of grit, however, as Mahoney's kills kicked off a four-point swing that pulled the Terriers back to within 6-5. Chloe Smith followed Mahoney's kill with a block, and Brown then posted a block and kill of her own. The sides traded points before three-straight App State points made the score 11-7. Mahoney added another kill to precede a Mountaineer error, pulling Wofford within 11-9. The teams again traded points, and MacLean posted a kill to bring the margin within one at 13-12. But the pendulum swung one final time in App State's favor as the Mountaineers tallied the next two points and the set 15-12 to secure the five-set match win.
 
Upon the conclusion of the event, the participating coaches named an all-tournament team for the Black and Gold Invitational. Bradley Brown and Annemarie Rakoski both secured the honors for the Terriers. Brown recorded 29 kills in the three matches this weekend with a .414 hitting percentage while adding 13 total blocks and three aces. Rakoski paced the team at the net with 17 blocks alongside 12 total kills.
 
After a stint in Boone, the Terriers return home for five-straight matches inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. First, Wofford welcomes No. 16 Tennessee to town on Monday, September 16, at 5:00 p.m.