EMORY, Va. - The Bridgewater College Volleyball Team (4-12, 2-4 ODAC) went up 2-0 early in the match and held off a strong comeback big by Emory & Henry College (8-9, 2-3 ODAC) in a five-set thriller, 3-2 (25-22, 25-16, 016-25, 18-25, 15-11) Wednesday evening at the John Rutledge King Center. The match also served as Dig Pink night for the Wasps and over $1,000 was raised to be donated to the Side-Out Foundation for breast cancer research.
The first set was close the entire way with Bridgewater earning a six-point advantage midway through, 18-12. The Wasps got to within two at 23-21 but two of the next three points went the Eagles' way as they took the 25-22 win.
Bridgewater slowly pulled away in the second set, building an eight-point lead at the halfway point and went on to win by a 25-16 margin. Jette Wade and Abby Mills combined for nine kills in the frame as the Eagles attacked at a .355 (15-4-31) clip.
Emory & Henry began to take control in the third set, jumping out to a 3-0 lead early. A seven-point scoring run gave E&H a 15-5 lead which would be insurmountable for BC despite scoring four points in a row on set point to prolong the Wasps' 25-16 win.
The scoring went back and forth in for the first part of the fourth set and Emory & Henry found itself down 14-12. The Wasps then went on an 8-0 scoring run to lead 20-14 and got up 23-15 as they went on to win the set 25-18, forcing a fifth, and deciding, set.
The fifth set saw both teams make their bids for the match with Emory & Henry reaching the halfway point first with a 9-7 lead. The Eagles turned things up and finished the set on a 8-2 run for the 15-11 win and the match.
Emory & Henry was led by junior outside hitter Tristen Pennington (Kingsport, Tenn.) with 22 kills, 20 assists, nine digs and four aces, coming up just short of a triple-double. Junior right-side hitter Hannah Doss (Meadowview, Va.) had eight kills and 17 digs while Kate Franklin (Blountville, Tenn.) added eight kills and two blocks. Junior middle Kennady Thomason (Chattanooga, Tenn.) pitched in seven kills and added four blocks while freshman setter Sam McCauley (Glade Spring, Va.) had 28 assists and eight digs. Junior libero Emily Hinshaw (Boone, N.C.) had 18 digs as well to lead all players.
Bridgewater was paced by Mills with 15 kills and 12 digs while Wade added 11 kills on .556 (11-1-18) hitting and seven blocks. Victoria Wilson notched 38 assists, seven digs and four blocks while Macon Frey pitched in 18 digs. As a team, the Eagles had 14 blocks and four players with three or more putbacks.
E&H will take to the road on Friday when they travel to Maryville to face off against Maryville College and Agnes Scott College in a tri-match. The Wasps will face the Scotties of Agnes Scott at 4:00 p.m., and will then face the Scots of Maryville at 6:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15