Johnson City, TN. Wofford’s perfect start to Southern Conference play ended this weekend in Johnson City, where ETSU took both matches of the series, 3-2 on Friday night and 3-1 on Saturday afternoon. The Terriers are 14-7 overall and 7-2 in league play. ETSU is 8-12 and 6-3.
Saturday’s set scores were 22-25, 25-17, 22-25 and 23-25. Avery White led the Tdawgs with a career high 16 kills on .438 hitting and added 11 digs for her second double double of the season. Chloe Smith had 12 kills and 13 digs for her eighth double double, and Bradley Brown and Taylor Mendez added 11 kills apiece. Taylor Pecht dished out 25 assists and Maddy Frazier had 20. Laney Klika led the back row with 18 digs, and Makaylee Ruiz posted a career high 14 digs. Charlotte Bell and Smith had four blocks each. Wofford had more kills than ETSU (57 to 51) and hit at a nearly identical clip (.215 to .214), but the Bucs won the block battle nine to five. Wofford trailed 22-18 in the fourth set before a 5-0 run put the Terriers up 23-22, but ETSU scored the final three points to close it out.
Friday’s match came down to the wire. ETSU won a 31-29 first set that featured multiple set points for both sides, then took the second 25-20. Wofford answered by winning the third 25-22 and ran away with the fourth 25-15, turning a 12-10 lead into 20-11 with an 8-1 run. The Bucs took the fifth set 15-11. Smith had 19 kills and two aces, Brown added 16 kills and six blocks, and White had 10 kills. Frazier dealt 29 assists, Pecht had 23 assists and 13 digs for a double double, and Klika had 16 digs. Wofford hit .197 with 64 kills to ETSU’s .155 with 56 kills, but the Bucs had eight aces to four.
The weekend snapped an eight match winning streak. Before Johnson City, the Old Gold and Black swept the Samford series in Birmingham (3-0 and 3-1) to reach 7-0 in the SoCon. Smith and Klika were named SoCon Players of the Week after that series. League play also included two wins at Chattanooga, a home sweep of UNC Greensboro and a win over Western Carolina. Nonconference wins came against Winthrop, Davidson, Presbyterian, Charlotte, George Washington, Clemson and Gardner Webb.
Wofford returns home to Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium to host The Citadel on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 6:00 PM and again on Friday, Oct. 23, with both matches on ESPN+. Home series against Mercer, Furman and Tennessee Tech close the regular season before the SoCon Tournament, Nov. 19-22 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, where Wofford is chasing a fourth straight title under head coach Lynze Roos.