The Oglethorpe volleyball team enjoyed an outstanding start to their season Saturday at Dorough Field House, knocking off the Centre Colonels 3-1 and 3-0 for their first two SAA wins since October 2018. The Stormy Petrels maintained control throughout, leading in all but the early-going of every set except the second set of the first match. They outhit Centre in all but one of the seven sets, often significantly.

The Petrels won the first match 25-13, 25-27, 25-13, 25-18. The home side hit .435 in the first set and .409 in the third en route to significant victories. The second set was a battle that Centre led most of the way and wound up pulling out, but the Petrels came back and challenged the Colonels in that stanza, as well. They went on a 6-3 run after being down 18-15 to take a 21-20 lead. Then after three straight Centre points, the Petrels answered back with three straight of their own to earn set point at 24-23. Centre eventually won 27-25, but that didn't deter the Petrels. They stormed back with an easy win in the third, then put the match away late with a 5-1 run and a 4-1 run. The former put them up 20-14 after the visitors had pulled within two and the latter finished the match off after Centre had pulled back to within four, 21-17.

Freshman outside hitter Ellie Alfonso collected a double double in her first collegiate match, recording 11 kills and 10 digs. Senior middle hitter Ta'Korya Green added eight kills and an impressive eight total blocks, hitting .471 for the match. Freshman libero Sofia Cendoya came up with 28 digs while junior setter Emma Williams added 37 assists. 

The home side proved just as dominant in the second match of the day, beating the Colonels 25-19, 25-22, 25-18. They scored the final four points of the first set to turn what had been a fairly tight 21-19 affair to that point into a six-point win. They held off a Centre challenge in the second set by outscoring them 8-5 after the set had been tied 17-17. Then they closed the match out in the third set, using separate four-point runs to first take a 14-9 lead, then extend their advantage to 20-13. 

Sophomore outside hitter Jackie Schner enjoyed an excellent match, collecting 10 kills and nine digs while hitting .310. Cendoya again led the team in digs with 19 while Williams added 30 assists. Freshman Kinsey Wilson led the squad with six total blocks.

The Petrels will look to continue their outstanding play into next weekend, when they travel to Alabama to take on Birmingham-Southern next Saturday at 1 p.m. Eastern.