The Oglethorpe volleyball team saw its season end as they suffered a tough 3-0 loss to Millsaps in the SAA Tournament quarterfinals Friday afternoon. The Stormy Petrels carried the conference's No. 7 seed going into the tournament, which is taking place in Conway, Ark. The Millsaps Majors came in as the SAA's No. 2 seed. Millsaps took the match, in the end, 25-14, 25-20, 25-7.

The Petrels got a solid performance from freshman setter Katie Stewart, who contributed 19 assists and 11 digs to the effort. Senior libero Megan Makuck, in her final collegiate match, led the team with 21 digs on the afternoon. Senior outside hitter McKenna Bondarenko chipped in six kills and 12 digs in what was her final match, as well. 

After the Petrels took an early 4-3 lead in the first set, Millsaps responded with a 12-2 run to pull out to a 15-6 advantage in the set. The Petrels were able to put back-to-back points together to cut the Millsaps advantage to seven, 19-12, but the Majors answered again with a 5-1 run to reach the verge of taking the set, 24-13. The Petrel fought off one set point but were unable to fight off any more. Millsaps took the set, 25-14.

In the second, the Petrels got off to an excellent start. They won four straight points early to take a 5-2 lead, then they went on another run to extend the advantage. They rattled off six straight points to build a seven-point lead on the Majors, 14-7. Millsaps began their comeback from there, however, as the Petrels would not string back-to-back points together for the remainder of the set. The Majors began by putting together a six-point run to cut the lead to a single point. Oglethorpe won another couple of points to maintain a six-point edge, but Millsaps finally caught them at 16-16 and then took a 17-16 lead. Oglethorpe was able to tie it once more at 17-17, but Millsaps slowly pulled away from there for the 25-20 victory. The Majors ended the stanza on an 18-6 run.

The Petrels had a difficult time in the third set. They fell behind 13-1 right away and never could work their way back into it. They did win back-to-back points to cut the margin to 10 points, 14-4, but Millsaps cruised from there, closing out the set on an 11-3 run. They took the set, 25-7, and the match, 3-0.

"We started the match trading points and then Millsaps went on a couple runs to pull away in the first set," said Head Coach Richie Tang. "I thought we bounced back very strong in the second set, taking the lead by 7, but we couldn't sustain it.  Credit goes to Millsaps for being the better team this afternoon. " 

The Petrels finish the season with a 15-18 record. The 15 wins represents the program's highest win total since 2009 and the team saw senior outside hitter McKenna Bondarenko and freshman middle blocker Kaitlyn Woodruff receive All-SAA Honorable Mention. The team bids farewell to seniors Bondarenko, libero Megan Makuck, outside hitter Anna Marie DiSalvo and middle hitter Lisa Inglis, who have all contributed in a huge way to the Oglethorpe volleyball program. 

"It's always tough to end any season with a loss," said Tang. "We're very thankful for the contribution and dedication our seniors have provided to this program."