BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Bridgewater College volleyball team moved to 5-1 in the ODAC after sweeping Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday. The win puts the Eagles above the Marlins in the conference standings and gives them their first win over the Marlins since 2013.

The Eagles came out strong, hitting a .417 in set one with all attackers earning at least one kill. Rachel Gaston strung together back-to-back kills before a Marlin attack error ended the set.

Bridgewater opened the second with a 10-3 lead, causing Virginia Wesleyan to use both timeouts before they reached four points. The Marlins hung around and made it interesting after coming back to make the score 23-20 Eagles, but a Marlin service error and Gaston kill would give Bridgewater set two.

The home team came out with fire and wanted to put the match away in three. They grabbed the advantage from the start and dominated the final set to earn the sweep behind solid blocking and attacking, as well as tenacious defensive from the entire back row.

Rachel Gaston had a match high 19 kills hitting a .405 and 15 digs for her twelfth double-double. Nadia Valle also put down double-digit kills, contributing ten. Madison Haynes was the most efficient Eagle attacker with a .538 hitting percentage and 7 kills. The Eagles defensive unit shined in the match with four players earning double-digit digs. Gaston led with 15, followed by Taylor McNeely with 14, and Jenna Hamra and Jyailah Friendly each posted ten. Victoria Wilson had 42 assists and 3 aces in the win.

Bridgewater is back on the court tomorrow, October 10, for a rescheduled match against Southern Virginia. Game time is 7 p.m.