The Oglethorpe volleyball team found itself in a tough matchup Saturday afternoon in Conway, Arkansas, as they went up against the No. 20 Hendrix Warriors. The Stormy Petrels fought valiantly, but fell 3-0 to the homestanding Warriors, dropping to 5-5 on the season overall and 0-2 in SAA play.

Hendrix got off to a good start in the first set, jumping out to a 14-3 advantage before the Petrels could respond, then extending it to 23-7. The Petrels mounted a bit of a comeback with three straight points to make the score 23-10, but Hendrix finished the set with a 25-11 victory.

The Warriors got off to an excellent start in the second set, as well, making it much the same as the first. They pushed out to a 9-2 advantage before the Petrels strung a couple points together, then pushed it back out 17-7. Oglethorpe responded with a 4-point run to make the score 17-11, but the Warriors again pushed it out with another mini-run, winning the second set 25-15.

The third set proved very competitive, as Oglethorpe and Hendrix went back and forth over the early part of the stanza. Hendrix built an early 8-4 lead, but the Petrels responded and vaulted into the lead, 10-9. The Petrels still led 13-12, but Hendrix responded with a 5-1 run to turn the set back in their favor, 17-14. Oglethorpe came back to tie the score again, 17-17, but Hendrix began the run that would put the match away from there. They outscored the Petrels 8-3 to end the set, 25-20.

Sophomore libero Anna Rash led the team with 11 digs while freshman defensive specialist Brianna Hernandez recorded 10. Sophomore right-side hitter Evan Furst hit .400 for the match, putting away five of her 10 total attacks.

"Hendrix did a great job of serving tough, which caused our passing to be off and put us out-of-system several times in the opening set," said Oglethorpe head coach Richie Tang. "Our offense is good when we have opportunities to get the ball to our setter, but it makes for a long day when our passing breaks down. You're not going to get any easy points from Hendrix, as they've very disciplined in what they do. We'll have to put this loss behind us and get ready to play again tomorrow."

The Petrels will travel to Memphis, Tennessee, next to take on Rhodes Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern. After that, they'll return home next weekend to host Centre and Sewanee.