The Oglethorpe volleyball team fell in a 5-set heartbreaker to Covenant for the second time this season Tuesday night, falling 3-2 (28-26, 21-25, 25-22, 14-25, 15-11) in the regular-season finale at Dorough Field House.

In the first set, Covenant won three straight points to take a 9-7 lead after the Petrels had gone up early on the visiting Scots. However, the home side fought back with a 7-3 run to take an 18-14 advantage into the latter part of the set. From there, though, Covenant returned the favor and went on a 6-1 run of their own and retook the lead, 20-19. The two teams traded points for the rest of the set and the Petrels worked it to a set point, 24-23. The Scots averted that, though, and eventually won the set on there third try, 28-26.

In the second, the Petrels ran out to an early 12-6 lead with the help of a 9-2 run. However, the Scots got right back into the set with a huge run of their own, running off three straight points to make it 17-14, then embarking on a 7-1 run to actually take the lead, 21-20. The Petrels would not lose another point in the set, though. They ran off five straight to suddenly take the set back and eventually win it, 25-21.

The third set was a story of runs for both teams. The Petrels ran out to a 6-1 lead, followed by 7-1 run by Covenant which gave them an 8-7 lead. The Petrels again went on a 6-1 run to retake the lead, 13-9, but then a prolonged 15-7 run gave Covenant complete control of the set and a set point, 24-20. The Petrels fought back with two straight points, but Covenant eventually closed out the set, 25-22.

The fourth set saw the Petrels finally take a set in comfortable fashion. This time, the home side ran out to a 10-3 lead, and though Covenant answered with three straight to make it 10-6, the Petrels put on more steam and pushed their advantage to 16-7. Covenant again answered with a 3-point run to make it 16-10, but the Petrels immediately erased that and took the lead back out to nine, 19-10. The Scots made a final push to try to get back in the set and close out the match. They shrunk the lead to five, 19-14. However, the Petrels buried them after that, finishing the set on a 6-0 run and winning the stanza by 11 points, 25-14.

That brought on the fifth and final set, which has not been kind to the Petrels all year. They were 0-5 in 5-set matches coming into the evening. In the set, the two teams traded points to make it 4-4 in the early-going. However, Covenant embarked on a 7-2 run to take over control of the set, 11-6. The Petrels fought back with four straight points to pull to within one, 11-10. Unfortunately, Covenant reasserted control from there, taking four of the final five points, the set and the match, 15-11.

The Petrels got several excellent performances in this match. Junior outside hitter McKenna Bondarenko put down 23 kills and came up with 14 digs on the evening, while junior setter Anna Marie DiSalvo tallied 47 assists and 14 digs, and sophomore outside hitter Erin Shelton had 12 kills and 17 digs of her own. Junior libero Megan Makuck recorded a team-high 24 digs, while junior defensive specialist Kayley Earley also came up with 14. Finally, sophomore middle hitter Courtney Wienckowski recorded 10 kills of her own.

The loss drops the Petrels to 5-18 on the season. They now participate in the SAA Championship in Mount Berry, Ga., this weekend. In the quarterfinals, the eighth-seeded Petrels will take on the top-seeded Berry squad at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The winner advances to the semifinals on Saturday afternoon, while the loser drops to Saturday morning's consolation round.