Volleyball sweeps Oglethorpe on Senior Day

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.