The Oglethorpe volleyball team suffered a tough defeat Sunday afternoon in Birmingham, Ala,. losing 3-0 (25-13, 25-15, 29-27) to Birmingham-Southern.

The home-standing Panthers took control of the match early, running out to a 6-2 lead in the first set, then extending that to 17-7. They closed the first set by winning eight of the final 12 points and took down the set, 25-13.

The Panthers continued their dominance in the second set. After falling behind 3-2 in the early going, Birmingham-Southern rattled off an 18-7 run to take a 20-10 lead. The Petrels came back with a a mini-rally of three straight points to get to within 20-13, but the Panthers answered right back with three points of their own, then closed the set, 25-15.

The Petrels tried to mount a rally in the third set. They started the frame off with a 5-0 lead, only to see Birmingham-Southern come right back to tie it, 5-5. Oglethorpe answered back, though, to go ahead 9-7, but were again countered by the Panthers, who went on a 6-2 run which included four straight points and went ahead, 13-11.

From there, the Petrels ran off five straight points of their own as the back-and-forth continued. Oglethorpe had a 16-13 lead, but it was answered again by the Panthers, who went ahead 18-17. The set continued in this manner until the score was tied, 23-23. Oglethorpe earned four separate set points, but was unable to finish any of them. Then, with the score tied 27-27, Birmingham-Southern killed off the match with two straight points, winning the set, 29-27.

Junior setter Anna Marie DiSalvo continued her quality play coming back from an ankle injury this weekend, recording 18 assists and 11 digs for the match. Junior libero Megan Makuck continued her fine defensive work, tallying 21 digs of her own.

The loss drops the Petrels to 4-9 on the season. They remain winless in SAA play (0-7). They'll attempt to rectify that next week, when they make their final road trip of the season. They'll be in Sewanee on Saturday at noon Eastern, then travel to Danville, Ky., to take on Centre Sunday at 1 p.m.