VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (BC Athletics) – Bridgewater women’s volleyball was bested in three sets against No. 21 nationally ranked Virginia Wesleyan on the road Friday night.

Score: Bridgewater (BCE) 0, Va. Wesleyan (VWU) 3
Records: BCE (14-6 OVR, 6-3 ODAC), VWU (21-1 OVR, 7-0 ODAC)

How It Happened
• The Marlins got the action started early from the very first set and kept the momentum going throughout the match. In the first set, VWU used an effective four-point scoring run to successfully break away from BCE and to land a confident lead at 23-15. The Eagles faced some tough attack errors, preventing them from staying close in the set. The Marlins closed out the opening set, 25-16.
• In the second set, the Eagles managed to work ahead of the Marlins this time around and tacked on a promising five-point rally. However, VWU quickly recovered with a handful of defensive stops and jumped ahead at 15-14. The Marlins never lost the lead from there in the set and stopped BCE’s offensive attackers effectively to take the second set, 25-20.
• Lindsay Kelley instilled some potential fire for the Crimson & Gold to take advantage of, starting out the third set with a service ace. The following plays, Reagan Stoop’s strong swing and Agnes Alford’s rejections took over both finishing sequences. The Marlins then used a firm five-point rally to dampen the energy from BCE’s side and boosted to a 9-6 early lead. The Eagles did not go away easily, applying pressure on VWU. Two additional lead changes took place in the middle of the set created by Stoop and Claire Griffith with a glimpse at holding onto a more controlled third set, but VWU held strong. Stoop ended a five-point run from the Marlins, but VWU shortly after went on another five-point rally and claimed the final set, 25-21.

Match Notes
• Va. Wesleyan hit its mark on a more precise measure, only giving Bridgewater four total attack errors to work with after two sets. The Eagles totaled 18 errors to the Marlins 10.
• The Eagles had two kills leaders go toe-to-toe with VWU’s strong offensive weapons. Reagan Stoop and Claire Griffith each dropped nine kills, which was dead even with VWU’s Alexis Shaw’s and Madi Schmidt’s nine each.
• Anna Black stayed strong defensively as the defensive specialist has done all season, racking up a match-high 15 digs.

Up Next
The Eagles are back in action tomorrow, Oct. 18 to face Randolph-Macon on the road beginning at 1 p.m.

— BC Athletics —