SPARTANBURG, S.C. – History was made Sunday evening inside Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium as Wofford volleyball dispatched Samford in four sets (25-10, 26-24, 23-25, 25-18) to win the 2023 Southern Conference Tournament Championship. No. 4 Samford concludes its season at 16-15, and No. 3 Wofford improves to 23-7 entering the postseason.
 
The championship is the first tournament title for any women's team sport at Wofford and the first in program history. The 23 wins on the season are the most in Wofford's Division I era (1995-present) and the most for the program since the record of 27 back in 1989.
 
"I think this is such a special group, and they had each other's backs when it got tight and the pressure was on. So to do this on our home court is incredibly special," said head coach Lynze Roos of the historic title. "We had so many alums in the stands to watch this, and I think it's just been something that we've been building up to. And actually the girls didn't know that they were the first team (to win a tournament title), so when we told them they lost their minds. It's been a really fun ride with them, and they're such a great group."
 
The match took place in front of an incredible crowd of 1,054, an attendance figure that topped the previous record for a Wofford volleyball match in Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium of 916, which was set in last night's semifinal match against Chattanooga.
 
Three Terriers were represented on the SoCon All-Tournament Team: Sarah Barham, Laney Klika and Sarah MacLean. Barham was named the Most Outstanding Player of the event. Mary Emily Morgan was tabbed as the Pinnacle Award recipient, which goes to the player on the championship team with the highest cumulative GPA. Morgan owns a 3.90 GPA as a business economics major. The three all-tournament honorees are a new program high. Barham and Klika have earned the first nods of their careers, and MacLean becomes the program's first-ever two-time honoree after also being recognized in 2021.
 
Wofford owned the net in the match, tallying 20 blocks to double Samford's total of 10. The 20 blocks tie for the second most in a single match in program history, and they are the most ever in a four-set match for the program. Samford's only advantage on the stats sheet was in aces, recording six to Wofford's three. But the Terriers held the Bulldog offense in check with just a .077 hitting clip on 34 errors while Wofford hit .263 with only 19 errors and 54 kills. The Terriers added 50 assists and 58 digs.
 
"We talked before the game about going for every single ball. You just don't know what could happen if you don't go for it, and that's our mentality back there," said freshman libero Laney Klika of holding the Samford attack under .100. "We remind each other every single point that that's what we're doing. Every time that the ball comes over the net, that's a ball that we can go for."
 
Leading the blocking efforts was Sarah Barham, whose 11 blocks are second most in a four-set match in program history. Those denials helped her reach 143 on the season, topping her own single-season program record of 138 set in 2021. Addison Foote and Sarah MacLean each added seven blocks, with Foote's total a new career best. Mary Emily Morgan added three swats, all solo.
 
"I credit a lot of our success to our block," said Barham. "It was really important to stay disciplined today. We knew we could be a factor; we knew we could make it easier for the rest of our team. We were really focused and really disciplined at the net, so it was a lot of fun."
 
MacLean and Morgan tied for the team lead in kills with 12 each. Foote added nine, Natalie Arnold had eight, and Barham tallied seven. MacLean was the most efficient, hitting .526 with only two errors on 19 swings. Barham hit at a .385 rate with only two errors as well on her 13 attempts.
 
"I feel like we're always in system, and our setters make great decisions so that our hitters have an easy time getting kills," said MacLean of the offensive success.
 
Taylor Pecht and Emily Hodsdon fed Wofford's potent attack with 23 and 20 assists, respectively. Hodsdon also added an ace and 11 digs, giving her a double-double for a third-straight match. It is the 11^th of her season and the 33^rd of her career, tying her with Amanda Liguori for sixth most in program history.
 
Laney Klika held down the defense with 15 digs, and the freshman contributed a career-high six assists. Her two aces topped the squad. Pecht added eight digs to fall just short of a double-double.
 
The Terriers came out of the gates strong, claiming the first seven points of the match. Mary Emily Morgan began the contest with a kill, and Emily Hodsdon immediately followed suit with an ace. Samford remained on its back foot the rest of the way. Despite a Terrier service error making the score 18-9, Wofford then embarked on a six-point run to create set point. The run featured Sarah Barham recording a kill and a block with Sarah MacLean, and Addison Foote added in a pair of kills herself. After a Bulldog kill, Barham concluded the set with a kill for the early 25-10 victory.
 
Set two played much closer with the Bulldogs settling in. The second set featured 10 ties and six lead changes. The Bulldogs took a 9-8 lead before Wofford put forth a four-point swing with kills from Sarah MacLean and Mary Emily Morgan alongside an Addison Foote block. But Samford used its own four-point run for a 13-12 edge. Back-and-forth the teams went until a Samford kill created set point at 24-22. Ever resilient, the Terriers fought back with a MacLean score followed by a Bulldog error to tie it up. Riding the momentum, Laney Klika delivered an ace, and MacLean struck again with the set-clinching kill, 26-24.
 
A set from victory, Wofford continued to push with a 7-4 lead early in the third. But Samford fought back to pull ahead 9-8. Much like set two, the third was played tightly with 11 ties and six lead changes. Samford pulled in front 16-13 before Wofford used an error and a tandem block by Sarah Barham and Sarah MacLean to pull within a point, 16-15. A four-point swing shortly thereafter would put Wofford ahead, 20-18, highlighted by kills from MacLean, Millie Loehr and Addison Foote, who also tallied a block. But Samford rallied late, recording six of the last eight points to win the set, 25-23, and stay alive.
 
The fourth was close early with Samford winning the first three points and leading 5-2. But an Addison Foote kill kick-started a five-point Wofford run for a 7-5 edge. Foote tallied two kills in the run with Natalie Arnold adding in the other three. After Samford would pull back in front 10-9, Wofford immediately fought back with a Millie Loehr score to start off a five-point swing. Sarah Barham got to work in the run, putting down two kills before teaming with Arnold on the punctuating block. The sides continued to trade blows with the Bulldogs pulling within 21-17, but it would be as close as they would get. Foote put down a kill, and after a Bulldog error Loehr added one of her own for match point. Though Samford scored off a service error, Mary Emily Morgan came up clutch with a kill that will live in Wofford lore forever, putting down the 25^th point and clinching the 2023 Southern Conference Championship for the Wofford Terriers.
 
"We're really excited," said Barham of the upcoming NCAA Tournament. "We're really excited for the selection show. It's going to be a really big opportunity and a really cool experience. And We can't wait to see where we're going."
 
Wofford has earned the SoCon's automatic berth into the 2023 NCAA Tournament, a program first. The Terriers will learn their opponent during the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, November 26. The show is scheduled to air at 6:00 p.m. on ESPN.