The Oglethorpe volleyball team suffered a tough night without two key players Thursday evening in Dorough Field House. They lost in straight sets to first-place Berry, 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-17).

Junior setter Anna Marie DiSalvo and junior libero Megan Makuck sat the game out due to ankle injuries, putting the Petrels behind the 8-ball from the very beginning of the match. Berry went ahead early and never looked back.

Berry went ahead 8-3 early in the first set, but Oglethorpe came back with a 4-1 run, cutting the Viking lead to 9-7. However, from there, Berry went on a huge 11-3 run to pretty much put the set away before it even seriously got going, leading 20-10. Oglethorpe won back-to-back points to pull it back to 20-12, but Berry whittled off five in a row after that and won the set, 25-12.

In the second, Oglethorpe took a 4-2 lead in the early-going. The two teams traded points for awhile after that, but the Petrels still held a two-point lead, 8-6, after several more points. However, Berry started another giant run from there. Oglethorpe would not win back-to-back points for the rest of the set, and Berry finished on a 17-7 run, taking the set, 25-13.

In the third, Berry ran out to a quick 4-0 advantage. The Petrels fought back to cut it to one, 4-3, but Berry again went on a run, stretching the lead out to six, 13-7. Oglethorpe got back into the set with a 5-1 run, cutting the deficit to 16-14. However, six straight point from Berry pretty much brought proceedings to a close. They led 22-14 and went on to take the set, 25-17.

With the injuries, junior defensive specialist Kayley Earley stepped into the role of setter and passed out 18 assists for the match. Junior outside hitter McKenna Bondarenko led the team with eight kills, but simply did not get enough chances to be effective.

Defensively, the Petrels struggled to cope with Makuck's absence. Bondarenko lead the team in digs with five.

The loss drops the team to 4-12 on the season, 0-10 in SAA play. They'll host a conference weekend on Saturday and Sunday, taking on Rhodes at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Hendrix at noon on Sunday. Saturday is Dig Pink day, so fans are encouraged to wear pink at the match, and to donate to the Petrels' Dig Pink fundraiser by clicking here.