SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Freshman
Bailey Hartsough tallied a career-high 18 kills and senior
Merry Gebel logged a match-best 21 kills, but Western Carolina dropped a 3-1 Southern Conference match at Wofford on Saturday. Wofford won the match by scores of 16-25, 23-25, 26-24, and 18-25.
Wofford improves to 8-10 and 2-4 in SoCon play while WCU drops to 8-9 and 4-2 in the league.
Gebel's 21 kills marked the third time this season that she has finished with 20-plus kills in a match. Hartsough's 18 kills surpass her previous high of 15 set against Davidson on Aug. 28. Sophomore
Destinee Dorsey tallied a team-best 22 digs while senior
Sydney Carlson dished out a team-high 25 assists.
Kennedy Smith led three Wofford players in double-figure kills with 17, followed by Sarah Barham with 16 and Meghan Yaffa with 13. Emily Hodsdon recorded a double-double with 51 assists and 10 digs. Kaitlyn Brown logged a match-high 28 digs.
Tied at 13 in the opening set, the Terriers used an 8-2 run to take control and clinched the win with a Mary Emily Morgan kill.
A bad set by Wofford gave WCU a 7-2 advantage early in the second set. WCU later rallied from a 15-13 deficit to take a 21-17 lead, but the Terriers rebounded to win the set 25-23 to claim a 2-0 lead.
Trailing 19-15 in the third, the Catamounts tied the set at 23 thanks to a Hartsough kill. After Wofford gained a 24-23 edge, the Catamounts used consecutive Hartsough kills followed by Wofford error to claim the set.
A Barham kill gave Wofford an 8-3 lead out of the gates in the fourth set. WCU didn't go quietly, though, pulling within three, 14-11, thanks to a Carlson kill. Wofford answered with five straight points and pulled away down the stretch for the set and match win.
WCU opens a four-match homestand on Wednesday, hosting UNCG in the Ramsey Center at 6 p.m.
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