The Oglethorpe volleyball team had a tough day on Saturday at the Greensboro College Volleyball Invitational in Greensboro, North Carolina, as they fell 3-1 to Emory & Henry and 3-0 to hosts Greensboro. Though the Stormy Petrels lost six of the seven sets they played on the day, they were largely involved in competitive sets, which is something they'll look to take forward into the Sunday conclusion of the invitational.

Saturday began with a 25-18, 25-22, 25-20 defeat at the hands of the home-standing Pride. The Petrels jumped ahead early in the first set, leading 5-2 at the outset. From there, Greensboro came back and built a small lead of their own, 11-8, before Oglethorpe swung back ahead 13-12. That would be the final lead the Petrels enjoyed for the set, however, as Greensboro ended on a 13-5 run to take the first set.

In the second, the Pride jumped out to a big lead. They held a 12-6 edge in the set, but the Petrels came roaring back with an 11-3 run of their own to seize the lead, 17-15. However, five straight Greensboro points put them back ahead by three and the two teams began to trade points. Greensboro finally put the set away with a four-out-of-five run, 25-22.

In the decisive third set, Oglethorpe ran out to an 8-4 lead, but the Pride again came back, this time with a 4-0 run, to tie the score. The Petrels immediately followed with a 6-1 run to go back ahead 14-9. A 10-2 Greensboro run put them back in control of the set, however, and they went on to win 25-20 to clinch the match.

Freshman outside hitter MaryAnn Smith led the team with eight kills, while freshman setter Hannah Masiongale passed out 20 assists and sophomore defensive specialist Gianna Zitello pulled eight digs.

The Petrels did not get off to a good start in their second match of the day against Emory and Henry. They fell behind early and the Wasps pulled out a 25-13 victory to take a one-set advantage. In the second, though, the Petrels got out to a 10-7 lead to begin the proceedings. Emory and Henry came back to take a 13-12 lead, but the Petrels rebounded with a huge 7-0 run to take a 19-13 lead. The Wasps came back with a 7-1 run of their own and tied it again, 20-20. That set up an exciting finish to the set, as Oglethorpe took a 24-21 lead before Emory and Henry staved off three straight set points to tie it again at 24-24. However, the Petrels finished two points in a row to take the set 26-24.

In the third, the two teams traded points for much of the set with neither team able to pull out to a lead bigger than three for the first half of the stanza. The Wasps were able to build an 18-13 lead, however, and slowly pulled away from there, eventually winning the set 25-18 to take a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set began with Emory and Henry taking a 7-0 lead, but would quickly come back to within three points. The Wasps pushed it back out to a six-point edge, but Oglethorpe then embarked on an 8-0 run to take a 16-14 lead. The teams continued to go back and forth from there. Another 6-1 Emory and Henry run put them up 20-17. That was followed by a 3-0 Oglehtorpe mini-spurt to tie the set back up. The Wasps, however, were able to put away four of the final six points to win the set 24-22 and take the match 3-1.

Smith had an excellent match against the Wasps, recording 16 kills and 10 digs. Masiongale passed out 25 assists in the afternoon match and Zitello pulled a team-high 11 digs.

The losses drop the Petrels to 2-4 on the young season. They'll be back in Greensboro on Saturday when they take on Swarthmore at 10 a.m. and Division II West Virginia Wesleyan at 4 p.m.