The Oglethorpe volleyball team suffered a tough loss in their SAA opener Saturday against Sewanee. For the third time this season, the squad built a 2-0 lead on its opponent before losing the final three sets. All three of the Petrels' losses have been in that fashion, while all three wins have been blowouts.

The match started very well for the Petrels. They were off and running in the first set, building an early 14-9 lead. Sewanee began making a comeback, pulling to within two late in the set, 21-19. But Oglethorpe took control from there, securing a 25-22 victory.

In the second set, the Petrels completely dominated. They fell behind 9-2 early, but came back in serious fashion, outscoring the visiting Tigers 23-9 the rest of the way. They started by pulling it to within a single point, 9-8. After Sewanee put them back behind 11-8, the Tigers never won two straight points for the rest of the set. The Petrels cruised to the 25-18 win, putting them within a single set of taking their SAA opener.

The third set proved to be a heartbreaker from which the Petrels did not recover. After falling behind 6-2, they went on a huge run to take a 9-7 lead. The two teams went back and forth for much of the set after that, and they were tied at 21, 22 and 23 points apiece. The Petrels had match point up 24-23 and up 26-25. However, they could not convert on either of them, and after several more back and forth points, Sewanee prevailed, 30-28.

The Petrels were never really in the fourth set, losing 25-15, and in the fifth, they fell behind early, 5-1. They did mount a comeback and got the score tied, 6-6, at one point. They never took the lead, however, and Sewanee pulled away from there.

McKenna Bondarenko had 18 kills while Anna Marie DiSalvo tallied 41 assists and Megan Makuck came up with 34 digs. 

The 3-3 Petrels, who are now 0-1 in SAA play, once again take to the court on Sunday at 11 a.m., when they take on Centre in their second SAA contest of the season.