The Oglethorpe volleyball team fell 3-0 to SAA opponent Sewanee in the Schmidt Recreation Center Sunday, dropping the first two sets 25-18 and the third 25-17. The result drops the Stormy Petrels to 5-17 on the year and 0-10 in SAA play.

Sewanee got off to a good start in the first set, going on a 9-0 run in the early-going to build a 13-5 lead. The two teams traded points for awhile after that, but then the Petrels responded with a 6-1 run of their own to pull to within two, 17-15. The visiting Tigers went on another 3-0 mini-run, though, and took control of the set. They led 22-17 and went on to finish the set 25-18.

The Tigers again got off to a hot start in the second, beginning the stanza on an 11-4 run. However, the Petrels came back with three straight finishes later in the set to cut the deficit to just three points, 16-13. After a back-and-forth period, though, Sewanee took control of the stanza at the end with a 4-0 run, building out to a 23-16 lead. Oglethorpe won back-to-back points to cut it to five, but the Tigers finished the set 25-18.

The third set began as another back-and-forth affair, with the Tigers pushing out to a 6-3 edge and the Petrels tying it up with three straight winners. Four straight Sewanee points put them back ahead 10-6 but the Petrels again came back with a 4-1 run, making it 11-10. However, with Sewanee ahead 17-16, they began an 8-1 run to close out the match. They wound up winning the third set 25-17 and the match 3-0.

The Petrels got a team-high seven kills from freshmen outside hitters Santreece Stephens and MaryAnn Smith. They also got another solid performance from freshman setter Hannah Masiongale, who dished out 25 assists and pulled a team-high seven digs.

"We struggled with our passing some today," said Head Coach Richie Tang. "That in turn limited our offensive options. We have tremendous hitters, but they can't be effective if we don't get them the ball in a good position. Sewanee is a well-coached team and put together a series of runs that we had trouble matching."

The Petrels will now embark on their last regular-season road trip of the year. They'll travel to Conway, Arkansas, to take on Hendrix Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern. That match will be part of a tri-match, with Oglethorpe taking on non-conference opponent Austin at approximately 3 p.m. Then, the squad will travel to Memphis, Tennessee, Sunday to take on Rhodes at noon Eastern.