BRIDGEWATER Va. – The Bridgewater College volleyball team competed in a home tri-match Saturday splitting games 1-1, winning against Shenandoah in four sets 3-1 and falling to Christopher Newport 3-0.
Match One
Final Score: Bridgewater 3; Shenandoah 1 (25-10, 21-25, 25-15, 25-18)
Records: Bridgewater 9-1 (2-0 ODAC); Shenandoah 5-5 (1-1 ODAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- The first set saw the two teams trading points with one another until a Reagan Stoop kill started a 9-0 run for Bridgewater bursting out to a 12-3 lead. The Eagles maintained a large lead throughout the set with Gabby Atwell issuing a kill assisted by Faith Shields to take a 20-10 advantage. Four kills from the BC floor helped give the team the set 25-10.
- Shenandoah took an early one point advantage following a service error from Bridgewater with the score of 10-9. The Eagles continued to stick around until its 14th point then the Hornets went on a 5-0 run to take a 20-14 lead. Back to back kills from Stoop closed out the attack for BC to surpass the 20-point mark, but Shenandoah reciprocated with two of its own to take the set 25-21.
- The third set was quite different from the previous sets with Rachael Meyers tallying a pair of kills to help Bridgewater get to 10-6. The Eagles halted the Hornets at seven points to go on a 5-0 run taking a 15-7 advantage. It was all BC the rest of the frame with the team busting out to its largest lead of the set at 13 points. Stoop initiated the final attack to help Bridgewater close the set 25-15.
- In the final set, Shenandoah opened up with a two point lead until kills from Faith DePew, Stoop, and Atwell allowed the Eagles to lead 6-5. The Eagles came out swinging at the 15-point mark with multiple kills and a service ace to take a 19-13 advantage. Shields closed out the set with a service ace at 25-18 and gave BC the win 3-1.
MATCH STATS
- Bridgewater dominated the attacking battle 56-25 with Stoop ending at 22, while Meyers and Kylie Robinson tied with 8.
- The Eagles had two players with 20 plus assists on the day with Shields recording 24 and Ashley Rutherford having 23.
- Defensively, BC had three players in double digits in the dig category with libero Sophia Stites leading the way with 19 followed by Stoop with 11 and Grace Williams with 10.
- The team hit .260 from the court. Meyers ended hitting .538 while Stoop finished hitting .326.
Match Two
THE BASICS
Final Score: Bridgewater 0; Christopher Newport 3 (21-25, 20-25, 25-27)
Records: Bridgewater 9-2; Christopher Newport 5-5
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Bridgewater and Christopher Newport started the set trading points with one another until a Meyers kill was followed up by 4-0 run by the Captains gave CNU the lead 11-7. At the 14-point mark, Brooklyn Williams had two kills to bring the score within one point 18-17. A Stites service ace gave the Eagles the lead late in the set at 20-19. The final score came off a Stoop kill, but CNU came back to take the set 25-21.
- Multiple kills from the BC floor kept the score close between the two teams but a Christopher Newport maintained a 12-7 advantage. A service ace from Grace Williams helped to break the deficit down to two at 13-11. DePew took the lead late for the first time of the set with a kill to make the score 18-17. Following the lead change, CNU went on a run to end the set 25-20.
- In a thrilling final set, Bridgewater got out to an early 8-5 lead with the help of Stoop and DePew having kills. A service ace from Rutherford helped the Eagles get up to a five point lead late 19-15. The Captains fought back following a DePew kill going on a run to tie 22-22. Bridgewater had a pair of set points at 24-23 and 25-24 but could not close the set out. CNu sealed the deal with a thundering block up front from Simara Alexander amd Alyssa Dozier.
MATCH STATS
- Stoop led the way in kills with 15 followed by Meyers with seven and DePew with five.
- Rutherford and Shields ended the match tying with 14 assists.
- Bridgewater was outdone in the blocking category 7-1 with Meyers and Brooklyn Williams sharing the lone block.
UP NEXT
The Eagles are back at home Wednesday to compete against No. 21 Mary Washington at 7 p.m.
