BRIDGEWATER, Va. – The Bridgewater Eagles men’s volleyball team debuted their season in a two-set exhibition series with Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), the former Royals of EMU and the defending national champions Southern Virginia University (SVU) on Jan. 10 in Yoder Arena.
During this first public appearance, this emerging team highlighted their closeness as a squad, exhibiting resilience and exemplifying their team culture by continually battling during each match.
“I just like to show my team I have their back, all the time,” said first-year captain, Davian Hugh.
In the opening match of the day, the Eagles traded points back and forth for nearly the entire set, with the score staying close until the final stretch. The Royals pulled away late in the set to capture the set-one win, 25-21.
Set two opened with an early EMU lead, but a kill by senior captain Jeffrey Prevost put him on the service line, where he evened the score 5-5.
Later in the set, EMU pulled away 15-11, and a few untimely errors by the Royals put the score at 16-15.
The score stayed close until the conclusion of the set, but errors by the Eagles gave the Royals game point, and they won the match 25-21. Despite the loss, the Eagles had 24 kills and 14 digs in the match with the Royals.
In the second match of the day, the Eagles took on the former Royals of the EMU alumni. The Eagles and former Royals traded points back and forth for the first 8 points of the game.
Prevost on the service line pulled them to 8-4. Errors from the Eagles’ offense brought the score to 11-10.
The score was evened, then a kill by first-year Aiden Weaver kick-started the Eagles offense again, which pulled them to 20-16. The former Royals found their rhythm and put themselves back into the game, making the score 20-20.
The Eagles regained the lead, 23-20, and a few errors by the former Royals gave the Eagles the set 25-20.
The second set started similarly to the first, but the former Royals pulled away 15-8. First-year Jovan Lapera gave the Eagles life, winning three straight points.
Bridgewater made several errors, and the former Royals had a strong server that allowed them to pull away significantly. The Eagles were unable to get things started again, eventually losing the set 25-14.
The Eagles struggled early in the third match of the day. The defending national champions exhibited a strong showing in the beginning of the match. The Eagles earned points sporadically but eventually fell 25-15.
The Eagles came into the second set with a fight. They traded points back and forth nearly the entire set, but Bridgewater pulled away at the end and beat the reigning national champions 29-27.
“We’re a very close team,” Prevost said “We all really love each other, and we all really, like, feed into each other when we play and rely on each other,”
In their inaugural season, the Eagles were projected to be eighth in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference poll.
Bridgewater has their home opener scheduled on Feb. 14 in Nininger Hall against Virginia Wesleyan University and Wilson College. First serve is scheduled for 12 pm and 4 pm, respectively.
The schedule for their inaugural season can be found here: https://bridgewatereagles.com/sports/mens-volleyball/schedule/2026
