NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - At the season-opening Christopher Newport Tournament, the Bridgewater Eagles volleyball team dropped a pair of 3-0 decisions to Meredith and Southern Virginia to fall twice on the opening day of the season. 

Bridgewater fell to Meredith in the opener by scores of 25-7, 25-16 and 25-19. 

Meredith, the preseason favorite to claim the North Division of the USA South Conference, was efficient in the opening set, committing just one error in 14 total attempts for a blistering .714 attack percentage. Following an early exchange of points, including a Bailey Long kill which tied the contest at 3-3, the Avenging Angels rattled off nine unanswered points to build a 12-3 advantage. 

Senior Megann Grimes powered down a kill to thwart the run to cut the gap to 12-4 but it was as close as the Eagles would get as Meredith controlled the remainder of the set to earn a 25-7 win. During the first set, the Eagles struggled at the offensive end, earning just four kills, while committing nine errors for a negative .227 attack percentage. 

In the second set, the Eagles began to rectify things as a kill by Grimes opened a short spurt which was capped off by a Courtney Thornburg ace to build an early 6-4 lead. Both teams then exchanged points until three-straight kills from the swing of Karlie Long put the Avenging Angels out in front for good. Bridgewater would tie the set up at 10 points each after capitalizing on a Meredith attack error but the rest of the set went to Meredith as the Eagles fell in a 2-0 hole behind a 25-16 defeat. 

Bridgewater jumped out to an early advantage in the third set as Rachel Kinsey followed a set-opening kill with a service ace to build a 2-0 Eagles lead. Throughout the early part of the set, Bridgewater took advantage of multiple Meredith mistakes and used a Shannon Skellchock kill to run out to a 7-4 lead. Bridgewater's lead was extended to four points in the middle portion of the set off of another Kinsey kill but the Avenging Angels quickly stormed back to take the lead. A kill from Long opened a seven-point run for Meredith and built a 12-9 lead until the spurt was ended by a kill from the swing of Carleigh Studtmann to trim the gap to two at a 12-10 score. 

The Eagles used an effective offensive effort in the middle part of the set as four straight kills, including two from Abby Mills, put Bridgewater up by a 14-12 tally. Both teams traded points in the middle part of the set with the Eagles owning a 19-16 lead off of a Meredith service error in the set's latter moments. 

Over the remainder of the contest, the Eagles struggled at the net, committing five attack errors, while the Avenging Angels capitalized on Bridgewater's mistakes to take a 25-19 victory in the set and a 3-0 win in the match. 

Bridgewater's offensive struggled plagued the squad in the opener as the Eagles committed 24 errors and pounded down just 22 kills for a negative .026 attack percentage. Freshman Sarah Temple led the Eagles in the first match with six kills, while Kinsey chipped in five. 

Skellchock ran the offense and delivered 17 assists and Thornburg led Bridgewater's defensive efforts with seven digs. 

Meredith hit at a stellar .309 clip on the evening and was led at the net by Long's 12-kill outing. Hannah Blaylock dished out 27 assists in the win and Emery McGee led the Avenging Angels defensively with seven digs. 

In the second match of the day, the Eagles fell to Southern Virginia by scores of 25-16, 25-19 and 25-22 to fall to 2-0 on the opening day of the season. 

Bridgewater jumped out to an early lead in the first set as kills from Studtmann and Grimes built an 8-4 advantage for the Eagles. 

Southern Virginia responded by scoring six of the next seven points to build a 10-9 lead. Following a Knights service error, Southern Virginia's Kaitlyn Eaton went on a tear, pounding down four kills to lead the Knights to nine straight points and a 19-10 advantage. 

The Eagles looked to chip back with a three-point run to trim the deficit to 19-13, but that was as close as the first set would get as the Knights ran away to a 25-16 victory and a 1-0 match lead. 

At the start of the second set, the roles were reversed. Grimes opened the set with a kill and the Eagles rattled off four straight points for a 4-0 advantage. Southern Virginia quickly responded with four points of its own to tie the set up at four apiece. The two teams would then trade point with the set being tied up at 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 and 12 points before Southern Virginia used a run to build some breathing room. 

Bridgewater committed four straight attack errors to open a six-point Southern Virginia run and hand the Knights an 18-12 lead. The Eagles looked to storm back in the back end of the set after a Studtmann kill was followed by two Knights errors but Eaton put the set away with a kill to give Southern Virginia a 2-0 match lead behind a 25-19 set victory. 

The final set of the day started out the same way the majority of the other five sets of the day had for the Eagles with Bridgewater jumping out to an early lead. A kill from Temple opened the set and a Kinsey kill later gave Bridgewater a five-point edge at a 9-4 tally. 

Southern Virginia made numerous runs at the Eagles, but Bridgewater's lead held at four points, 15-11, in the middle part of the set. Bridgewater then used a three-point spurt, bookended by Knights attack errors, to take an 18-12 lead. 

Following its own miscue, Southern Virginia then capitalized on numerous Bridgewater miscues to go on a five-point run and trim the deficit to 18-17. Bridgewater miscues continued as a setting error on Skellchock put the Knights out in front 20-19. The Eagles tied the set up at 20 points each off of an Eaton attack error but the Knights rattled off five of the final seven points to take a 25-22 set victory and a 3-0 sweep of the match. 

Grimes led the Eagles with seven kills and Studtmann chipped in six for a Bridgewater attack that mustered a tepid .037 attack percentage. Skellchock dished out 20 assists in the loss and recorded the double-double with 10 digs. Thornburg led the Bridgewater defensive effort with 13 digs. 

Eaton was impressive in the win, earning 16 kills, while committing just four errors for a .414 attack percentage. Katelynn Tiustek ran the offense with 22 assists and April Bennett led the way with a game-high 15 digs. 

Bridgewater closes out the weekend on Saturday with matches against Keene St. and Christopher Newport. The Eagles meet up with Keene St. at noon and the host Captains at 4 p.m.