Sept. 20, 2002

Spartanburg, SC - After over two hours of play, the Wofford volleyball team defeated The Citadel in five games (25-30, 30-23, 22-30, 30-25, 16-14) Friday night in the Benjamin Johnson Arena.

With the win, Wofford improves to 10-5 on the season, and 2-1 in SoCon play. The Citadel falls to 3-6, 0-2.

The Bulldogs took the early lead in game one behind strong play from Lindsey Hodge and Samantha Parisi, each of whom had six kills in the first game. Wofford battled back in game two, as six kills from Katie Laser helped them to the seven-point victory. In game three, a number of Citadel blocks helped them to regain the one-game lead. The Terriers rebounded from a deficit to win, 30-25, in the fourth contestand force a game five. In the rubber game of the match, The Citadel led, 14-13, but Wofford pulled even and a pair of Terrier kills finished the contest.

Wofford Head Coach Corey Helle had favorable words for The Citadel following the match.

"My hat goes off to the Citadel," Helle said. "They played well, and with confidence. They had a chance to win, and probably deserved to win, when we were down in game four. It says something about our girls, though, that we didn't quit. We weren't consistent, but at critical times we played well enough to win."

Wofford's Janna Webb led all players on the night with eighteen kills. She was supported by a pair of 15-kill performances from Laser and Currie Gossett. Laser also added seven blocks. Molly Bushong had 49 assists, and Lindsay Lyman and Katie Sobczyk each tallied 18 digs.

For the Citadel, Nicole Mantu, Parisi, and Hodge finished with 17, 16, and 15 kills, respectively. Desiree Browning made 41 assists, and Mantu added three aces and give blocks for her squad.

Wofford will rest less than 17 hours before taking on league opponent College of Charleston on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Benjamin Johnson Arena. The Citadel also plays at 2 p.m. on Saturday, traveling to SoCon rival Furman.