Bridgewater, Va.- The Bridgewater College volleyball team fought hard in a close match-up against Washington and Lee on Senior Day, Oct. 26 with a final score of 3-0.

The Eagles faced a tough loss on Wednesday night against third ODAC-ranked W&L. Bridgewater’s record now sits at 9-3 heading into the postseason.

“I think we did good,” said first-year libero Sophia Stites. “I think we could have had a little more energy, but overall I think it was a good team battle.”

Before the match-up, the Eagles honored seniors Grace Hayes, Ann-Marie Johnson, Sara Kerns, and Lisa O’Grady.

The first set started strong for the Eagles, and they held the score tight for the majority of the set. First-year Faith Depew showed off her talents by scoring two back-to-back kills for the Eagles and stole the first two points of the game.

Depew, O’Grady, and first-year Kylie Robinson traded kills for most of the first set, along with impressive blocks from sophomore Rachael Meyers and O’Grady.

“We brought a lot of stuff that we do at practice in,” said junior middle-hitter Lauren Nofsinger. “We do a lot of blocking work and outer systems, and I think we brought that in today.”

Meyers led the team in blocks with five, followed by Hayes and O’Grady with two. With a service error from the Eagles, Bridgewater barely lost the first set, 25-22.

“We got three points off that round, but we could have totally beaten them,” said first-year spectator Jonah Todd. “We just made a few mistakes, but we can get there.”

The Eagles start strong in the second set, winning six of the first ten points. The ladies showed off their skills quickly as O’Grady scored two kills, Robinson with one, and Stites served an ace all within the first ten points.

The Eagles put up a tough fight the whole way through the set, with multiple digs throughout points. Bridgewater scored 50 digs in total for the evening, led by Robinson with 12 and Hayes with eight.

Through a tough battle of trading points, the score split 19-19. The Eagles won the next point but lost the latter four, bringing the score to 23-20.

Depew put in one final kill for Bridgewater in the second set but was topped with a final score of 25-21 in favor of Washington and Lee.

“The second set was good, and we were really tied,” said first-year spectator José Urdaneta. “I am disappointed about the loss, but they are keeping it really close.” 

The third set started off slow for the Eagles as they trailed behind 7-3. Bridgewater attempted to make up for lost ground and boosted the score to 11-8 in favor of Washington and Lee, however, W&L gained points in runs for the remainder of the set. 

“The first two sets definitely had a lot of energy, and in the third set, they lost all the momentum,” said junior spectator Abigail Freeman. 

The majority of the points scored during the third set were kills and ended with a score of 25-17 in favor of Washington and Lee. Even though the Eagles fell short during their Senior Day match-up, Bridgewater did not lose without an effort. 

“Lisa O’Grady did a great job as a right-side hitter, and they also had some great digs tonight,” said Freeman. “I know Washington and Lee had some powerful hitters tonight, so they did a really good job.” 

The Eagles produced 32 assists and 34 kills for the evening and surpassed Washington and Lee in blocks. 

“I think Ashley Rutherford had really good defense and I think Madeline Walker had really good energy and tried to pump up the team the whole time,” said Stites 

Volleyball heads into the first round of the ODAC tournament, set to take place on Nov. 2. Bridgewater is currently ranked at number five in ODAC standings.

“I am really excited for the playoffs,” said Stites. “I am sad it is going to be over, but I will enjoy the free time and miss everyone too.”