The Oglethorpe volleyball team split their two matches as part of a tri-match Wednesday in Decatur, Georgia, defeating Agnes Scott 3-2 after coming back from 2-1 down before falling to No. 3 Emory 3-0. The results move the Stormy Petrels to 3-12 on the season. 

The evening started with an exciting five-set match against the homestanding Agnes Scott Scotties. The match got off to an excellent start for the Petrels, who came back from a very early 3-0 deficit to take a 10-7 lead. Agnes Scott answered with a 7-1 run to take a 14-11 lead, but the Petrels responded by embarking on a 10-1 run of their own to take a 21-15 advantage. The Scotties pushed back to within three points, 22-19, before Oglethorpe pushed back up by five, 24-19. Agnes Scott staved off set point a few times and pulled to within two, but the Petrels finished the set 25-22. 

Agnes Scott jumped out to a lead in the second set, though, building a 7-2 advantage. The Petrels came back to within a point and the two sides traded points for a time. The set remained close with the Petrels taking a 14-13 lead. The score was tied 15-15, but the Scotties went on a 10-3 spurt to end the set and took it 25-18, tying the match.

The Agnes Scott run continued in the third set as the home side jumped to an 8-2 edge. The Petrels slowly worked their way back into the set, though, eventually pulling to within a point, 13-12. The two teams traded points for awhile but Oglethorpe was able to get the score tied at 18-apiece before Agnes Scott pushed it back out to a two-point margin. The Petrels staved off two set points at 24-22 and tied the score but the Scotties finished back-to-back points after that and took the third set 26-24.

The Petrels needed to win the final two sets to take the match and they got off to a solid start, taking an early lead in the fourth. The match continued to be close, though, with each team holding small leads. The set went back and forth but the Petrels gained a stranglehold late in the set and pulled away for a 25-20 victory.

That set up the decisive fifth set, which the Petrels took command of early. After Agnes Scott took a 2-0 lead, Oglethorpe ran off seven consecutive points to take a huge 7-2 edge in the first-to-15 final stanza. Agnes Scott came back to within three, but the Petrels pushed it back out again with a four-point run, extending their lead to 12-5. The Petrels closed the set out from there, taking the final stanza 15-8 and the match 3-2.

Freshman outside hitter Santreece Stephens led the team with 11 kills. Fellow freshman outside hitter MaryAnn Smith fired off 10 kills, as well. Freshman setter Hannah Masiongale passed out a season-high 44 assists while freshman defensive specialist Savannah Grove led the team with 24 digs. Fellow freshman defensive specialist Anna Rash recorded 19 digs and sophomore libero Gianna Zitello put up 18 digs of her own.

"Agnes Scott was a very scrappy team," said Head Coach Richie Tang. "We still had some moments that needed to be better but I'm pleased that our defense stood out to give our hitters another chance to attack. We moved some players around and I think the change of pace really helped us be successful."

Later on in the evening, the Petrels took on No. 3 Emory and remained competitive throughout most of the match. The first set was close throughout the opening portion of it, with the two teams tied 8-8 early on. Emory slowly pulled away, though, building a 20-12 lead later in the set. The Petrels went on a four-point run to pull back to within four, 20-16, but Emory finished out the set and won it 25-17.

The second set saw the Petrels jumping to an 8-4 lead, but the Eagles answered with a five-point run to make it 9-8. The two teams went back and forth for awhile, but Emory slowly built their lead back up to a 21-16 edge. After the Eagles attained set point at 24-20, Oglethorpe came back with three consecutive points to get to within one. The Eagles finished off the set from there, though, winning 25-23. The Eagles were able to close out the match with a 25-6 win in the third set.

"Against Emory, I thought we played excellent defense and once again we executed a lot of the things we practiced and saw in our video scouting," Tang said. "Emory is a very difficult opponent and I thought we played well against them overall."

The Petrels will return home this weekend as they welcome SAA opponent Rhodes and Rust to Dorough Field House for a tri-match beginning at noon. Then on Sunday, Oglethorpe will welcome Hendrix at 11 a.m. and will play Rust again at 1 p.m.