BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater College volleyball team took down cross-town rival Eastern Mennonite 3-2 in an exciting matchup.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Bridgewater 3; Eastern Mennonite 2 (25-7, 18-25, 28-26, 27-29, 15-12)
Records: Bridgewater 15-5 (6-2 ODAC); Eastern Mennonite 7-12 (2-6 ODAC)
HOW IT HAPPENENED
- Bridgewater got off to fast start getting an early 6-1 advantage over Eastern Mennonite following a Rachael Meyers kill. Following the fast start, the Eagles continued to create pressure with Reagan Stoop kickstarting a run of seven to increase the lead 13-2. The Royals could not muster up a sustainable attack only scoring seven points to end the match. On the other hand, BC closed out the set with a 12-3 run to claim victory 25-7.
- The second set saw EMU start fast, busting out to an early 5-0 lead with Lizzy Kirkton scoring on two kills to end the run. Bridgewater managed to stay within reach following a kill from Stoop assisted by Faith Shields to make it 8-5. Midway through the set Eastern Mennonite capitalized on the Eagles' attacking errors to take a nine point advantage, 15-6. BC tried to initiate a comeback with successful attacks coming from the floor, but the Royals evened the match at one a piece.
- The two teams were deadlocked at three until EMU put together a 3-1 run to go up 6-4 early in the third set. Bridgewater benefited from consecutive attacking errors to bring the score within one, 8-7. However, Eastern Mennonite followed up with a run of five to increase its margin by six, 13-7. Late in the set, the Eagles got help from the attack when Meyers issued consecutive kills to start a 6-3 run and tie up the score 19-19. The set's end was a tight one, but BC prevailed winning the set past the 25 points, 28-26.
- The fourth set started out similar to the first with Bridgewater opening up to an early 6-2 lead following a Stoop kill. The Eagles maintained an advantage over the Royals midway through the match with the help of Meyers and Madeline Walker sparking a run of four to go up 15-9. BC managed to reach 20 points first, with a successful Brooklyn Williams attack, but EMU was able to take its first lead of the set 21-20 following a Sophia Denby kill. The two teams traded points past the 25 point mark with Eastern Mennonite forcing a game deciding fifth set 29-27.
- In the final set, Bridgewater took the early advantage of 4-1, but the Royals were able to tie it up with a successful run of three. The two teams were once again trading point until the Eagles reached 11 points to go on a 4-2 run to take the set 15-12 and win the match 3-2.
MATCH STATS
- Stoop led the offense with 21 kills and accumulated 13 digs in the match while Meyers finished with 10 kills swinging a .333 hitting percentage and Faith DePew had eight.
- Ashley Rutherford had a season high 31 assists on the night for BC surpassing 300 assists on the season.
- Gabby Atwell held down the net picking up six total blocks while also hitting an impressive .417 hitting percentage on the night. Meyers and Stoop each tied with five total blocks.
- Sophia Stites led the team in digs picking up 15 and inching closer to 300 on the season.
UP NEXT
Bridgewater will continue its homestand with a matchup against Averett in the annual Bleed Crimson game on Friday, Oct 13, starting at 6 pm.
