KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Wofford volleyball team claimed a see-saw first set Thursday night in Food City Center, but the Tennessee Lady Vols responded to win the match in four sets (25-22, 13-25, 16-25, 11-25). Wofford drops to 0-4 as Tennessee improves to 2-1 after day one of the Tennessee Invitational.
 
The Lady Vols outhit the Terriers .258 to .021, compiling a kills advantage of 56-28. Tennessee won the service line 8-1. The Terriers posted a season high of nine blocks, but the Lady Vols notched 14 of their own.
 
Chloe Smith led the Terrier attack with 11 kills. Charlotte Bell posted a career-best five kills in her first-career start. Smith recorded an all-around performance, posting six digs, a career-high six blocks, and an ace.
 
Despite her career-high efforts at the net, Smith was bested by Annemarie Rakoski with her seven denials. Defensively, Maddy Frazier paced the team with 12 assists and 10 digs for her first double-double of the campaign and seventh of her career. Taylor Pecht added seven assists and seven digs, and Laney Klika recorded nine digs.
 
Set one was a tight back-and-forth battle with neither side willing to give an inch. Tennessee won the opening point before Chloe Smith delivered back-to-back kills for a 2-1 lead. The teams would trade blows with Tennessee continuing to hold a tight edge, but Wofford pulled level later at 12-12 and 13-13 with a Smith kill and Maddy Frazier dump kill, respectively. Frazier's was followed by Smith delivering again for a Wofford edge. Shortly thereafter, Smith continued her impressive run of form with a kill and ace in succession. The Terriers led 18-15 after a Natalie Arnold kill. Riding the momentum, Wofford used a big block by Charlotte Bell and Bradley Brown to claim a 22-17 lead. However, the Lady Vols did not give in, pushing back to pull within 23-22. Smith came up big once more with another kill for set point, and a Lady Vol error provided the set one win to the Terriers, 25-22.
 
Tennessee responded in set two despite an early Wofford push. A Charlotte Bell kill tied the set early at 2-2 before the Lady Vols countered with a three-point run as part of an overall 8-1 swing. The Terriers gave some pushback with kills from Chloe Smith and Annemarie Rakoski throughout, but the early hole proved too much to overcome as Tennessee pulled level in the contest with a 25-13 set two win.
 
Set three saw the Lady Vols carry their momentum over from the second stanza as they claimed the opening six points of the frame before a tandem block from Annemarie Rakoski and Natalie Arnold broke the spell. Tennessee kept up the pace, though, leading 16-6 before Wofford found a rhythm with a four-point run in the middle goings of the frame. Bradley Brown opened the run with a kill, and alongside a pair of errors Chloe Smith provided a big solo swat as Wofford pulled with 16-10. A subsequent three-point run for Wofford, highlighted by Rakoski's kill and block, pulled the Terriers within 18-13. Tennessee won the following two points, and despite a kill by Charlotte Bell, Tennessee held firm late to claim a 25-16 win in set three.
 
The fourth set opened with Tennessee winning the first five points. Bradley Brown's kill put Wofford on the board, but the following three rallies went the way of the Lady Vols. Annemarie Rakoski and Chloe Smith combined for a pair of blocks later in the frame, and Emily Normand added a kill, but the Lady Vols posted runs between each. The Terriers did not go down without a fight, however, notching a four-point run near the end of the frame that featured back-to-back combo blocks by Smith and Rakoski. Smith added a kill, but Tennessee would claim the set, 25-11, and the match in four sets.
 
Wofford looks to respond tomorrow morning with a 10:00 a.m. match against Winthrop to wrap up the Terriers' stint in the Tennessee Invitational.