Constance Connolly (C’20) sets the volleyball. Photo courtesy of sewaneetigers.com.
By J.T. Mitchell
Staff Writer
On Thursday, October 24, the Sewanee volleyball team swept the Oglethorpe Stormy Petrels 3-0 while celebrating the numerous contributions of the team’s four seniors: Constance Connolly, Macy Gardella, Aliyah McCane, and Stephanie Price.
Things weren’t looking great for the Tigers as the Stormy Petrels jumped out to a 13-8 lead in the first set. The Tigers then cut the lead to three before Coach Nancy Mueller-Culver called the first timeout of the contest.
After the timeout, Oglethorpe nudged back out to a 19-14 lead before Sewanee finally turned it on. The team went on a 7-1 run, making the score 21-20.
Oglethorpe regained the lead, 23-22, before Destiny Stewart (C’19) delivered a powerful kill, the 1000th of her career.
At this point, the momentum had shifted in Sewanee’s favor, and the Tigers closed out the set 27-25.
The second set wasn’t nearly as stressful. The Tigers cruised to a 25-10 victory, in large part due to a .320 attack percentage (11-3-25).
In the third set, Oglethorpe took an early 9-8 lead. However, the Tigers responded with a 12-3 run before closing out the stanza 24-10. It was not only the Tigers’ tenth sweep of the season but a big win for the team’s seniors.
“The match was a team effort as everybody did their part on and off the court,” senior Stephanie Price said. “These past four years have been a wild ride… I’ve experienced moments that I will never forget.”
Hopefully, a few more of those unforgettable moments are to come as the Tigers (16-9, 8-6 SAA) will turn their sights to the postseason after three more regular season contests on the road. The conference tournament will begin Friday, November 8 at Birmingham Southern.