The Oglethorpe volleyball team celebrated Senior Day in grand style Sunday afternoon, picking up a pair of 3-1 wins over SAA rival Rhodes and non-conference opponent Fisk to close out their home season at Dorough Field House on Senior Day.

Things did not start out well for the Stormy Petrels in either match as they lost the first set in both. However, they were also able to take the final three sets of each match to pick up a pair of victories. 

The afternoon started against SAA rival Rhodes, who had been winless in conference play coming into the contest. The Petrels eventually made sure that Rhodes stayed that way, but it wasn't without a big fight from the pesky Lynx. The Petrels eventually prevailed, 3-1 (24-26, 25-23, 25-21, 25-21). For the match, they got 13 kills and 16 digs from senior outside hitter McKenna Bondarenko, 35 assists and 19 digs from freshman setter Katie Stewart, 10 kills and 19 digs from senior Anna Marie DiSalvo, and 26 digs from senior libero Megan Makuck.

The Stormy Petrels were behind the eight-ball from the start of the first set. They fell behind Rhodes, 7-1, and never led in the set. Oglethorpe bounced back with a 5-1 run to make it 10-8, but Rhodes had an answer, extending their lead back out to 17-11 after taking four straight points. The Petrels again fought back, getting to within three a couple times, but Rhodes pushed their lead back out to 23-18. From there, the Petrels went on a 6-1 run, though, staving off two set points and tying the score, 24-24. However, Rhodes won back-to-back points to take the opening set, 26-24.

After Oglethorpe took an 8-5 lead to start the second set, it looked like they might be in trouble, as Rhodes embarked on a 12-3 run to take a six-point lead midway through the set, 17-11. The Petrels started trading points with the Lynx from there, but that was no help, and Rhodes held a 21-15 advantage over the Stormy Petrels and looked to take a two-set lead. However, Oglethorpe fought back in a big way. They allowed only two further points for the rest of the set and closed the stanza on a 10-2 run. When the dust cleared, the Petrels had the second set, 25-23, tying the match at a set apiece.

The third set was similar, but the Petrels had to come from even further behind. Rhodes ran off the first six points of the set and 10 of the first 11. They led the Petrels, 12-3. However, an 11-2 Oglethorpe run tied it up, 14-14. Then, after Rhodes won back-to-back points for a 16-14 advantage, Oglethorpe went on another spurt, this one totaling 6-1, and took a 20-17 lead after being down by nine early in the set. Rhodes quickly tied it up with three straight, but the Petrels closed on a 5-1 run to take the set, 25-21. After falling behind by nine, the Petrels outscored the Lynx 22-9 over the remainder of the set.

The Petrels led from early on in the fourth, taking a 14-6 lead out of the gate. Rhodes climbed back into it, though, using a string of six straight points to pull to within one, 17-16. The two sides went back and forth and the Lynx were still within one late, 21-20. However, the Petrels ended with a 4-1 run to close out the match and the season sweep of the Lynx.

In the second match, Oglethorpe tried to beat Fisk for the second time this year, as well. They succeeded, getting 19 kills and 17 digs from DiSalvo, 38 assists from Stewart, and 31 digs from Makuck. The Petrels won, 3-1 (21-25, 25-14, 25-18, 25-23).

They lost the first set again, though. The Petrels led by two a couple times in the set, holding a 7-5 advantage early, but the visiting Bulldogs took a two-point lead of their own, 10-8. Oglethorpe fought back to take a 14-12 lead, but Fisk embarked on a 6-1 run to take an 18-15 lead. From there, the Petrels tied it a couple times, but could never get the lead back. Fisk took the set, 25-22.

The Petrels again rallied to win the final three sets, though, starting with the second. The Bulldogs took an early 8-3 lead, but Oglethorpe really turned it on from there. They used a 14-2 run to take a 17-10 lead, then closed on a 7-1 run to take the set, 25-14.

The Petrels got off to a fast start in the third set, taking a 6-0 lead and expanding that to 13-5. They led by as many as 10 points, 19-9, before Fisk started to make a bit of a comeback. They got as close as five, 20-15, but the Petrels were able to close it out, 25-18. 

In the fourth set, the Petrels had to come back again to take down the match. They trailed late by as many as four, 21-17. Then, after taking three straight to get the deficit down to 21-20, Fisk won back-to-back points to make it 23-20. Oglethorpe didn't allow another point from there. They ran off five straight to win the set, 25-23, and the match, 3-1.

Sunday represented Senior Day for the Oglethorpe volleyball program. The Petrels celebrated the careers of middle blocker Lisa Inglis, libero Megan Makuck, and outside hitters McKenna Bondarenko and Anna Marie DiSalvo. 

The victories move the Petrels back above .500 on the season. They're now 15-14 overall, 3-9 in SAA play. The latter mark ties them for sixth in the league going into the final weekend of the regular season. They'll travel to Birmingham, Ala., to take on Birmingham-Southern at noon Eastern on Saturday before continuing to Jackson, Miss., for a date with Millsaps at 3 p.m. Eastern next Sunday.