The Oglethorpe volleyball team is off to the first 5-0 start in program history after defeating both Point and Fisk at the Sewanee Invitational Friday in Sewanee, Tenn. Point went down 3-1, while the Stormy Petrels defeated Fisk 3-0, meaning they've won 15 of the 16 sets they've played this year.

The Petrels started their day against Point and promptly lost their first set of the season to go down 1-0 in the match. However, they were able to gamely fight back to take three in a row and close it out, 25-27, 25-13, 25-19, 25-16. They got 12 kills and 16 digs from senior outside hitter Anna Marie DiSalvo and 10 kills from senior outside hitter McKenna Bondarenko. In addition, freshman setter Katie Stewart passed out 32 assists to help Oglethorpe to the victory.

Point got off to an early 5-3 lead in the first set, but the Stormy Petrels tracked them down with an 8-3 run to take an 11-8 lead. Point ran off five straight points to take a 15-13 lead, however, and they'd extend that to a 21-18 lead as the set developed. The Petrels ran off three straight of their own to tie the set and the two teams traded points after that. With the score tied at 25-apiece, Point won the final two points to take the set, 27-25.

However, the Petrels' answer was immediate. After Point took a 7-6 lead in the second, the Petrels ended the stanza on a 19-6 run. This included two streaks of four straight points won. The Petrels wound up taking the second set, 25-13.

The third set swung the match toward the Petrels, but Point started out very well, going ahead 4-0 in the first parts of the stanza. However, the Petrels won seven straight points in the midst of a 9-1 run and took a 9-5 lead in the set. The two teams then traded points for awhile, with Point coming within a single point a couple of times, but the Petrels pulled away with an 8-2 run late in the set, pushing their lead to 24-17. Point fought off match point a couple times, but Oglethorpe finally put the set away, 25-19, going ahead 2-1 for the match.

The fourth set played out much like a combination of the second and third sets, as it turned out. Point led 7-6 in the early part of the stanza, but the Petrels embarked on an 8-2 run to take a 14-9 lead. Point would not go that easily, however, and they went on a 5-0 run of their own to tie the score. It was all Petrels from there, though, as they ended the match on an 11-2 run and took the set, 25-16, to close it out.

In the night cap, the Petrels defeated Fisk 25-10, 25-23, 25-23, dominating the first set, but having to battle hard for the other two. They got 14 kills and 10 digs from DiSalvo to go with 12 kills from Bondarenko. Stewart delivered what has become her customary total of around 30 assists, collecting 31 of them. The Petrels got a huge defensive performance from Makuck, though, who recorded 21 digs in the match, many of them in big situations. 

The first set was an Oglethorpe runaway, as they reeled off runs of 14-3 and 6-2 to cruise to an easy 25-10 victory. The next two sets, however, would be much more difficult. The Petrels jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the second, but Fisk came back with a 10-3 run to take a 10-8 lead of their own. The Petrels bounced back with a 6-1 run, taking a 14-11 lead, but Fisk would again tie it. The two teams traded points for a period and Fisk had an 18-17 lead. From there, Oglethorpe went on a 7-1 run that completely turned the set in their favor. Ahead 24-19, the Petrels had to endure one more Fisk run that pulled them to within a point, 24-23, but the Petrels were able to get the final point and win the set, 25-23.

In the third, Fisk ran off five straight points early in the set to take a 7-2 advantage over the Petrels. However, Oglethorpe was able to fight back and tie the score, 8-8. Fisk repeatedly took the lead in the set and the Petrels always had an answer. They fought back from three down to tie the score, 11-11, fought back from three down again to take a 16-15 lead, and finally turned a one-point deficit into a two-point lead, 19-17. However, a 6-2 run from Fisk put the set in jeopardy and the Petrels behind, 23-21. Not to be outdone, the Petrels ran off the final four points and put the match away, winning the set 25-23 and the match 3-0.

The 5-0 Petrels will be back at the Sewanee Invitational on Saturday, when they take on Cumberland (Tenn.) at 1 p.m. Eastern before getting a yet-to-be-determined opponent from the other half of the field at 5 p.m. Eastern.