The Oglethorpe volleyball team split a tri-match to round out its regular season Saturday in the Schmidt Center, defeating Fisk 3-0 and falling to Piedmont 3-1. With the results, the Stormy Petrels finish the regular season 7-24.

The day started with a 3-0 victory over Fisk. The match featured a 10-point Oglethorpe comeback in the second set and a four-point comeback to win a very competitive third. The first set was all Oglethorpe, though, as they jumped out to an 11-4 advantage. After trading points for a brief period, the Petrels went on another huge run, this one 10-1, to all but put the set in the win column, 23-9. Fisk went on a brief run, but the Petrels closed it out 25-13.

The second set did not begin well for Oglethorpe, as the visiting Bulldogs scored the first nine points of the game. After a brief stretch of point-trading, Fisk followed it up with three consecutive points again, building a 14-4 lead. The home side began a huge run at that point, though, embarking on a 13-3 stretch that pulled the set even, 17-17. Fisk rebuilt a two-point lead, but Oglethorpe again went on a devastating point run, parlaying a 5-1 stretch into a 24-22 lead and set point. The Bulldogs fought back to tie the score twice, but the Petrels responded with the consecutive points they needed to complete the comeback and take the set 27-25.

Back-to-back three-point runs gave the Petrels a 6-3 lead to open the third set. An additional 5-1 stretch pushed Oglethorpe into a 12-7 lead, but Fisk responded with a 12-3 run of their own to build a 20-16 edge. From there, though, the Petrels came back to ice the set, pushing to a 7-1 run to take a 23-21 lead. After a Fisk point, the Petrels finished the set with consecutive points of their own, winning it 25-22.

Freshman right-side hitter Evan Furst led the squad with seven kills and hit an impressive .462 in the process. Freshman setter Hannah Masiongale finished with 18 assists while freshman defensive specialist Anna Rash led the squad with 10 digs. 

"I was proud of our effort throughout the match," said Head Coach Richie Tang. "We served and passed incredibly efficiently in the first set. We stalled and had several offensive errors to begin the second, though, and we really can't go on stretches like that as we head into SAA Tournament play. However, I was very pleased to see us come back like we did and then come back and finish off a tough third set."

In the second match of the day, the Petrels took on in-state opponent Piedmont. The first three sets proved to be highly competitive affairs, with the visiting Lions taking two of the three before grabbing the fourth by a more comfortable margin. Piedmont was up by a couple points early in the first before the Petrels went on a 10-3 run, pushing out to a 16-11 advantage. The Lions responded with an 8-1 run to turn the set around, though, taking a 19-17 lead. The Petrels would quickly tie it, but the Lions again went on a run, this one 5-1, to build a 24-20 lead. The Petrels staved off set point twice, but the Lions were finally able to finish it 25-22.

In the second, the Lions got off to a 6-0 lead before Oglethorpe fought back with a 4-1 run. They would then compound that with a 5-1 stretch to pull to within a point, 11-10. The teams traded points for a while, but Piedmont was able to push their lead out to as many as three before finishing the set on a 6-1 run to win it, 25-18. 

After Oglethorpe pushed to a three-point lead early in the third, the Lions responded with three straight of their own to make it 5-5. The Petrels went on a five-point run to make it a 10-5 game, but four straight Piedmont points pushed them to within a point again. The two teams proceeded to trade points for a long stretch, culminating in a 20-20 scoreline late in the stanza. From that point, though, the home side finished on a 5-1 run to win it 25-21. 

Piedmont closed the match out in the fourth set, though, starting on a 7-2 run and then pushing it further with a 10-1 spurt to take a 17-6 lead. After a brief period of trading points, the Lions closed the match on a 4-0 mini-run, taking the set 25-11 and the match 3-1. 

Freshman outside hitter Santreece Stephens led the squad with 10 kills in the team's second match of the day. Masiongale added 29 assists while both Rash and freshman libero Savannah Grove finished in double-figure digs with 15 and 16, respectively. Both Masiongale and freshman middle hitter Ashlee Tolbert recorded a pair of block assists. 

"I thought we played Piedmont close for the majority of the match," said Tang. "We have to take care of the things we can a control a little better. We had some service errors at a critical timewhich allowed Piedmont a mini-run, and that has been the difference all season between us winning and losing several matches. We did not have a great offensive performance in the fourth set, and it's tough to stay in there when your offense is sputtering."

With the regular season over, the Petrels will now concentrate on the upcoming SAA Tournament. As the No. 8 seed, they'll take on top-seeded hosts Hendrix in the quarterfinal round in Conway, Arkansas. That match is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. Eastern time Friday.