The Oglethorpe volleyball team split their two games on the first day of the MC Invitational in Maryville, Tenn., defeating Earlham, 3-0, Friday morning before falling to hosts Maryville, 3-1, in the afternoon. 

In the morning match, the Stormy Petrels took it to the Quakers, sweeping the contest in straight sets, 25-15, 25-21, 27-25. Senior outside hitter Anna Marie DiSalvo had an excellent match, accumulating 15 kills and 14 digs. Fellow senior outside hitter McKenna Bondarenko was also in double figures in both categories, recording 10 kills and 10 digs of her own. Senior libero Megan Makuck collected 23 digs of her own while freshman setter Katie Stewart continued her good run of play, passing out 29 assists.

In the first set, the two squads traded points in the early-going, finding themselves tied, 9-9. From there, the Petrels started to assert control, however, as they ran off four straight points to take a 13-9 lead. Earlham came back to within a point, but Oglethorpe finished on an 11-3 run to close out the set, 25-15.

In the second, the Petrels came back from an early one-point deficit to take an 8-5 lead. Then, with Earlham back to within a point, Oglethorpe ran off four straight points and six of the next seven to take a six-point advantage, 17-11. The Quakers went on a 9-4 run to pull to within a point, 22-21, but the Petrels closed it out from there with three straight and won the set, 25-21. 

The third set was highly competitive, though the Petrels led for most of the way. After a 10-10 tie, the Petrels took the lead and never trailed again, but were never able to build a lead bigger than five points, 22-17. Earlham came back from there to tie the score, 25-25, but the Petrels closed out the match with back-to-back points, winning the set, 27-25.

At the time, the win improved the Petrels to 7-1 on the year, which was tied for the best eight-match start in program history. 

In the afternoon, the Petrels faced a tough test against MC Invitational hosts Maryville. The four-set match ended with the home-standing Scots prevailing, 25-17, 19-25, 29-27, 25-12. Bondarenko had a season-high 19 kills on the match, while DiSalvo contributed 15 of them. Stewart chipped in 36 assists, as well, with Makuck recording 16 digs and freshman defensive specialist Gianna Zitello coming up with 10 of them. However, it proved to be a tough match for the Petrels.

With the first set tied, 5-5, Maryville would run off 10 of the next 12 points, including seven in a row, to take a 15-7 lead. Four straight points brought Oglethorpe back to within four, but another big run by the Scots essentially put the set away, giving them set point at 24-14. The Petrels fought off three set points, but that was it, and Maryville took the first set, 25-17.

The Petrels bounced back in the second. They jumped out to a 15-5 lead with an excellent start to the stanza, and though Maryville ran off five straight after that, the Petrels built a seven-point lead back up, 20-13. Maryville made it close again, cutting the Oglethorpe lead to 22-19, but the Petrels closed it out from there with three straight of their own, tying the match, 1-1.

The third set, a marathon stanza that ended 29-27, proved to be the pivotal one. The Petrels got out to a 9-5 lead early, but the Scots won six in a row to overtake them, 11-9. They extended the lead to 20-16, but the Petrels made a big push and tied the score, 21-21. It was back and forth from there, as the two teams vied to take the set that would decide the match, as it turned out. Maryville jumped back ahead, 23-21, but the Petrels answered with three straight points, obtaining a set point, 24-23. The Petrels had two more set points, leading 25-24 and 26-25, but couldn't close it out. Maryville came back and had a set point of their own at 27-26. The Petrels tied it one more time, but Maryville scored the next two points to close out the set.

The Petrels just didn't have it in the fourth. They fell behind 14-3 and, after back-to-back points, saw Maryville go on another run to take a dominating 21-6 lead. Oglethorpe fought back with four straight points, making it 21-10, but the Scots closed it out with four of the next six points, taking the set, 25-12, and the match, 3-1.

The results move the Petrels to 7-2 on the young season. They'll continue their stay at the MC Invitational on Saturday, when they take on two more Division III foes. They'll battle Capital at 10 a.m. before taking on Lynchburg at 6 p.m.