ATLANTA – Two close sets went the other way, then No. 7 Berry ran away with the third to send Oglethorpe volleyball to its first loss in the last four matches with a 25-23, 27-25, 25-14 decision Wednesday night in the Southern Athletic Association opener.

"Our team battled hard against No. 7 Berry," said head coach Anna Braun. "Our serving remained consistent and defense was generally strong. We have some fine tuning to do prior to our next competition in order to execute more consistent offensively."

Leaders

Jackie Schner led the Stormy Petrels with 10 kills next to only two errors while Briella Kohler followed with six kills and Ta'Korya Green had five. Emma Williams set up 15 of Oglethorpe's kills, followed by Gabbi Phillips who had 10 assists and seven digs. Schner also led on the defensive end with 14 digs.

Oglethorpe had another solid blocking effort as the team recorded six of them, including a solo from Green and three assisted from Emelia Sengstock.

Set-by-set

Oglethorpe battled back from early deficits in each of the first two sets. Berry won the first three points of the first game before an 11-5 run by Oglethorpe swung the lead. Oglethorpe led 20-15 and 23-20 in the opening set, but Berry closed out the first frame on a 5-0 run.

It was a similar story in the second set, this time with Berry leading late, 24-22, before a couple of big points helped the Petrels fight off two set points. Kohler had a big kill on the second of those points, helping tie it up at 24-24, then Green had a big kill two points later to tie it up 25-25.

Berry would take the next two points to seal the second game with a 2-0 lead before a 12-0 run early in the final set helped the Vikings pull away for good. Oglethorpe brought the score back to within five midway through the set but Berry then closed the match out on an 8-3 run.

Up next

Oglethorpe plays at home again Saturday and Sunday with two more SAA matches, both starting at 12 p.m. Saturday the Stormy Petrels will welcome Birmingham Southern; Sunday they welcome Millsaps, who matched Oglethorpe with an undefeated 3-0 record at last weekend's Stormy Petrel Classic.