The Oglethorpe volleyball team split their two matches with the visiting Rhodes Lynx Saturday at Dorough Field House. The Stormy Petrels rolled 3-0 in the opener, with Rhodes getting nowhere near winning a set. The home side prevailed 25-12, 25-14, 25-15. However, they fell 3-2 in the afternoon match after leading 2-1, with a final line score of 22-25, 25-20, 24-26, 25-21, 15-11.

In the first match of the day, the Petrels took it to the Lynx early and did not let up. They got started with a 15-4 run to open the first set. Rhodes pulled it back to a 17-10 score with a 6-2 stretch of their own, but Oglethorpe put a vice grip on the stanza with a 6-1 run to take a 23-11 lead.

In the second set, the teams traded points in the early-going, but the home side went on a 7-1 run to push out to a 19-10 lead. They then scored four points in a row to build their advantage to 24-13 before finishing off the stanza a couple points later. 

Rhodes looked to fight their wa back into the match in the third set, but the Petrels immediately put them behind the eight-ball by winning nine of the first 10 points. The Lynx worked their way back into it, cutting it to a four-point game, 14-10. The Petrels put the match away after that, though, scoring seven straight to build a 21-10 advantage.

The Petrels hit .316 for the match and senior middle hitter Ta'Korya Green hit .526 individually with 10 kills. Freshman outside hitter Ellie Alfonso added 12 kills, seven digs and four blocks, while junior outside hitter Emilee Etter added 12 kills on a .458 hitting percentage. Junior setter Emma Williams led the team with 30 assists and freshman libero Sofia Cendoya did so with 19 digs.

The second match started off much the same for the Petrels. They went on a 10-2 run midway through the opening set and flipped an 11-8 deficit into an 18-13 lead. Rhodes got to within a point late, 23-22, but the Petrels finished it off with consecutive points after that. 

The two teams went back and forth in the second set and the score was tied 18-18. However, Rhodes embarked on a 6-1 run to take control of the stanza 24-19. They went on to win their first set of the day.

That seemed to galvanize the Lynx, and the two teams engaged in a tight, back-and-forth third set. The Petrels reeled off four in a row to make it 13-9, then Rhodes responded with a four-point run of their own to tie it up. Oglethorpe built a 22-18 lead and attained set point at 24-22, but Rhodes tied it at 24-apiece. The Petrels responded with two straight points to take the set 26-24.

However, Rhodes had the better of the fourth set throughout, leading to the fifth. The teams went back and forth early in the final stanza, but with the score 5-5, Rhodes won four of the next five points to take a 9-6 lead. The home side got as close as 10-9, but Rhodes finished on a 5-2 run to take it.

Green enjoyed another outstanding match, hitting .516 with 18 kills. Williams accrued 49 assists and 14 digs while hitting .417 with six kills. Cendoya led the team with 22 digs.

The 3-3 Petrels will be back in action next weekend, when they travel to Conway, Arkansas, to take on Hendrix Saturday at noon and 3 p.m. Eastern.