BRIDGEWATER, Va. (BC Athletics) – Bridgewater College women’s volleyball fell to nationally recognized Christopher Newport in four sets Wednesday night at home.

Score: Bridgewater (BCE) 1, Chris. Newport (CNU) 3
Records: BCE (16-7 OVR), CNU (18-7 OVR)

How It Happened
• Bridgewater started off slowly, working through a tough opening set. The CNU Captains plunged into the set, jumping out to a strong 8-3 start. The surge continued shortly after pouncing on offensive set plays and enlarging the lead to 15-3. The Captains safely got into rhythm and took the first set, 25-7.
• In the second set, the tides turned. This time around, BCE got the early advantage and worked to a 5-1 lead. Reagan Stoop found her groove and pummeled the ball into the hardwood to push the lead to 11-5. CNU was not done though, and found a short burst of momentum in counter attacks to then claim the lead at 18-17. Stoop nailed another kill and kept at it for the Eagles while Claire Griffith pounded an attack as well as well-executed set plays to attackers fed by Maya Veselinovic. BCE pushed till the end working into extra points in the set; however, CNU edged out the Eagles in the set, 31-29.
• The third set was all Crimson & Gold. The Eagles were ready to work back into this match. BCE lunged to a 4-0 start and held onto the lead the whole way. Faith DePew and Stoop paired up to knock down a combined seven kills. Veselinovic got a piece of one from Anna Black to send the match into a fourth set off a 25-22 set score.
• Wire-to-wire action ensued in the fourth set. The Eagles jumped ahead then the Captains would return the favor, and the Eagles would go back up again once more. Gabby Atwell pulled in a lob from Veselinovic to rocket a kill for an early 4-1 lead. CNU found answers to come back, claiming the lead at 12-11. Soon after, yet another lead change occurred as BCE took back the lead at 13-12 off a DePew ace. Four total lead changes occurred and two near the end of the fourth set. However, CNU slipped away to come away with the final set for a 25-23 score.
Match Notes
• Bridgewater was narrowly clipped in the mid-week matchup going toe-to-toe with a nationally recognized program in digs (BC got the edge 62-57), kills (CNU got the edge 55-48), and assists (CNU got the edge 51-46).
• Reagan Stoop showcased showstopper plays and finished with a double-double, 16 kills and 11 digs.
• The first set pushed back the Eagles in this tight bout while earning five kills of seven points in the opening set to CNU’s 10.

Up Next
The Eagles are back in action on Saturday, Nov. 1 for senior day against York (Pa.) beginning at 1 p.m. The match can be streamed live on FloCollege.

— BC Athletics —