The Oglethorpe volleyball team came out after a couple tough losses in a row and dominated the Sewanee Tigers Sunday afternoon at Dorough Field House, winning a comprehensive 3-0 victory. The win marked the program's first SAA victory since their 3-1 home triumph over Rhodes on Oct. 19, 2014, and improved them to 6-7 on the season overall and 1-4 in SAA play. 

The Stormy Petrels played well from the opening serve on Sunday and got off to an excellent start in the opening set. They quickly ran out to an 11-2 lead before the visiting Tigers could mount any type of response. Sewanee did come back with a 5-1 mini-run to make it 12-7, but the Petrels got control back and traded points with the Tigers for awhile, making the score 16-11 midway through the set. A 5-1 Oglethorpe run pushed them into a comfortable 21-12 advantage and they cruised to a 25-18 victory in the opening stanza.

Sewanee started better in the second set, building an early 6-2 lead, but the Petrels responded with a 6-1 run to turn the tables and take an 8-7 lead of their own. After the Tigers retook the lead with back-to-back points, the Petrels embarked on a 7-1 run to take a 15-10 edge. Three straight Sewanee points cut that to 15-13, but Oglethorpe went on another spurt, this one 8-1, to build a comfortable 23-14 advantage. The Tigers scored five straight points to make it 23-19, but the Petrels won two of the next three to take the set, 25-21.

The two sides traded points for much of the early part of the third set. Oglethorpe led 9-8 when they went on a 3-point run to make it 12-8. Sewanee responded with a 3-point run of their own, but four straight Oglethorpe winners pushed the home side to a 16-11 advantage. The Tigers came back to make it 16-14, but the Petrels responded with the run that put the match away. They outscored the visitors 9-1 over that stretch to take a 23-15 lead. The Petrels closed out the set from there, winning it 25-16 and taking the match in three straight.

Sophomore outside hitter Santreece Stephens led all players with 12 kills and hit .333 in the process. Fellow sophomore outside hitter Savanna Hockman recorded 10 kills while junior middle hitter Kaitlyn Woodruff recorded 11. Junior setter Jordan Jones posted a match-high 28 assists while sophomore libero Anna Rash led all competitors with 21 digs, marking her third consecutive match with 20 or more. Rash also recorded three service aces. Freshman defensive specialist Taryn North pulled 10 digs, as well. 

"I thought Santreece and Savanna did a great job today," said Oglethorpe head coach Richie Tang. "We really needed them to step up as outside hitters and I'm very pleased with their production today. Kaitlyn also played a great match. Our overall passing was stellar and that helped Jordan run the offense that we wanted. I was also really impressed with our ability to close out the match in the third after the last two where we dropped 2-set leads. It was really important for this team to be able to close out this match today, and they did just that. It's good for us to be able to get our first SAA win in almost two years, as well. That shows we're moving forward as a program." 

The Petrels will make a midweek trip across town to take on Division II Clark Atlanta Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. After that, they'll travel to Jackson, Mississippi, and Birmingham, Alabama, to take on Millsaps and Birmingham-Southern, respectively.