SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford volleyball team opened its own Wofford Invitational Thursday night with a straight-set victory (25-13, 25-22, 25-11) over the Gardner-Webb Runnin' Bulldogs inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. The sweep moves Wofford to 3-6 as Gardner-Webb falls to 6-5.
 
"Playing at home there's always the mindset of we need to protect our home court," said senior Annemarie Rakoski of opening the home tournament with a win. "Just starting off this long weekend with that sweep is just so rewarding."
 
The Terriers outmatched the Runnin' Bulldogs across the board, besting them in kills (39-23), aces (6-3), blocks (9-5), and digs (63-51). Wofford hit an efficient .260 with just 12 errors on 104 attacks. Meanwhile, Gardner-Webb was held to a negative clip of -.025, recording 26 errors in 119 swings. This is the first time the Terrier defense has held an opponent to a negative hitting percentage since Sept. 1, 2023, against Georgia State (-.038).
 
"I think that we have just been working really hard in practice, and it was a big focus this week, digging and digging to target, putting our hitters and setters in a good spot," said sophomore Laney Klika of the defensive efforts. "Our mindset is just to do it for the girls on the court just so we can put ourselves in a good position to score a point."
 
Leading a balanced Terrier attack was Chloe Smith with 11 kills. Annemarie Rakoski followed with eight, and Bradley Brown and Natalie Arnold each captured seven. Rakoski was the most efficient, tallying a .727 percentage with no errors in 11 swings. Brown hit .375 with one error in 16 attacks, Charlotte Bell posted a .364 clip with five kills and one error in 11 attempts.
 
Taylor Pecht dished 19 assists as Maddy Frazier added 13 to feed to offense. Pecht added 12 digs for her second double-double of the season (24^th career). Laney Klika notched a season-high 26 digs to lead the team. Caroline Przystup and Frazier each sent home a pair of aces to pace the squad.
 
At the net, Brown led the way with five blocks. Annemarie Rakoski followed with three, pushing her career total over the coveted 200 threshold.
 
Wofford opened the match with a 6-2 lead, highlighted by kills from Chloe Smith and Charlotte Bell. Bradley Brown took charge for three-straight points with two kills and a block to aid in the Terriers pulling ahead 10-3. The Runnin' Bulldogs began to push back, pulling with 13-10. But Natalie Arnold notched a kill and combined with Brown for a block. Shortly thereafter, Arnold struck again, and an error pushed the lead to 17-11. After a GWU kill, the Terriers claimed eight of the following nine rallies to clinch the set in fashion. The final push saw Smith record three kills with Annemarie Rakoski adding one and Brown posting an ace. Rakoski and Bell clinched the set with a block, 25-13.
 
The Terriers rode the momentum into set two, leading early 8-3. This included Annemarie Rakoski opening the set with her 200^th block. A Charlotte Bell kill had the Terriers ahead 13-6, but a five-point run pulled GWU within 13-11. Trading blows in the middle goings, Wofford led 23-16 before a four-point Runnin' Bulldog run, pulling within 23-20. Bell struck for set point, but the pesky Runnin' Bulldogs notched the next two. However, an error befell them to put the set in the hands of Wofford, 25-22.
 
Wofford held a slight 7-6 lead early in set three, but a Gardner-Webb service error provided a sideout for the Terriers. They took it and ran, rattling off a six-point run that featured a Chloe Smith kill and Caroline Pryzstup ace as Wofford pulled ahead 13-6. Thanks to a pair of kills later by Annemarie Rakoski, the Terrier advantage ballooned to 18-9. After a Runnin' Bulldog kill, Natalie Arnold struck for one of her own. This sparked a five-point run for Wofford with a Laney Klika ace and Bradley Brown getting to work with two kills and a block with Arnold. Leading 23-10, the Terriers followed a Runnin' Bulldog point with another kill by Brown, and a GWU error ended the match as Wofford claimed the set, 25-11, and the contest in three frames.
 
The Wofford Invitational continues tomorrow with three more matches inside the Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium. After a pair of neutral contests at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., the Terriers hit the court at 6:00 p.m. to face off against Marshall.