WINCHESTER, Va. (BC Athletics) – Bridgewater College men’s volleyball fell short in the first ever ODAC matchup in program history to Shenandoah on the road Tuesday night in four sets.

Score: Shenandoah Hornets (SUH) 3, Bridgewater Eagles (BCE) 1
Records: BCE (2-6 OVR, 0-1 ODAC), SUH (3-5 OVR, 1-4 ODAC)

How It Happened
• Although a slow start for the Eagles, the Crimson & Gold showed remarkable fight in the opening set. BCE struggled to take hold of the offense early. The Hornets started out with the lead and applied immediate pressure, while the Eagles missed middle connections to counterattack. SUH pushed ahead with momentum mounting. The Hornets launched an 11-3 lead, leaving the Eagles with little space to make up the deficit. Long rallies took over the set as Davian Hugh ended the cold start, lighting a spark halfway through with a dig and attack. Towards the end, BCE pieced together aggressive attacks to stay close with a strike by Corbin Green, tying it at 25 apiece. However, SUH snuck by tight margins with a 28-26 opening set.

• The Hornets set the tempo to get the set going while the Eagles closely trailed behind. BCE ran into issues on the serve while the Hornets capitalized on hitting miscues. The Hornets forced the Eagles to take a second timeout at 16-11. Jeffrey Prevost came out of the timeout with a strong kill and soon stacked the kills to carry out the set. SUH managed to maintain a steady distance from the Eagles. Then, with determined effort to keep the set going, the Hornets were forced to take a timeout with just a four-point lead at 22-18 after three successful punches by BCE. The surge stopped there as SUH closed out the second set, 25-19.

• After a couple of slow starts, the Eagles came around to apply pressure in the third set. BCE jumped out to a 7-3 lead off kills by Aiden Weaver and Prevost. The Hornets managed to make up some ground off additional hitting errors and went on a five-point run to close the BCE lead to one. The Eagles stood aggressive, continued swinging, and found looks in the offense. BCE quickly pushed the lead back up to six at 20-14 with another strike by Prevost. Seth Williams then closed out the set with a drilled service ace to go 25-18, extending the match to a fourth set.

• The momentum swung back for SUH in the fourth set, taking an early charge. Jax Conley then got busy striking a kill to help the Eagles to a one-point deficit at 10-9. The cross-court attacks missed the inside for BCE, dropping them back with a four-point deficit at the timeout. Service errors continued to play into effect late in the set. The Eagles struggled to capitalize on offensive connections. SUH finalized the match in the fourth with a 25-19 score.

Match Notes
• Aiden Weaver and Jeffrey Prevost combined for 20 kills of the team’s 37.
• Errors set the Eagles back in the matchup, tallying 18 service errors.
• Defensive stops came in bunches from freshman libero Davian Hugh with 17 digs setting the match high.

Up Next
The Eagles are back in action on Friday and Saturday at the Wittenberg Invitational on Feb. 6-7 in Wittenberg, Ohio.

— BC Athletics —