BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Strong offensive efforts from the Bridgewater Eagles volleyball team earned them a crucial 3-0 sweep over Washington and Lee and a 3-0 victory over Salem College on Saturday in Nininger Hall.

Bridgewater crushed Washington and Lee in set one by a tally of 25-12. The Eagles kept the momentum as they rolled to a 25-22 victory in the second set and then won 25-13 in the third to take the 3-0 match victory. Washington and Lee was 8-0 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) heading into the match. The victory for the Eagles was the first over the defending champion Generals since the 2007 season. 

The teams traded the first few points before Bridgewater took off on a four point run to build an 8-3 lead. The Eagles took advantage of Washington and Lee errors to push the lead to 13-5, with Megan Lookabaugh adding a kill during the stretch. The Generals cut the lead to 15-10, but after kills from Lookabaugh and Katie Long, the Eagles took a 19-10 advantage to force a Washington and Lee timeout.

Out of the stoppage, the Eagles never let up and Megann Grimes pounded back-to-back kills to end the first set and hand Bridgewater the 25-12 victory.

To start off the second set, the Generals jumped to an early 8-5 lead before the Eagles used an Abby Mills service ace and Lookabaugh kill to gain a 9-8 lead. The teams drew the game to a deadlock, 10-10, but back-to-back Long kills and a kill from the swing of Grimes gave the Eagles a 14-10 lead. Bridgewater and Washington and Lee battled for points mid-set and tied the game at 21. Grimes put the ball away for a kill to give Bridgewater a 23-21 lead. The Generals sided out with a kill from Kasey Cannon, but kills from Mills and Maddy Carter gave Bridgewater the hard-fought 25-22 win.

Senior Mara Hogan served the first eight points for the Eagles to start the third frame, tallying two aces during the run. Washington and Lee used a few Bridgewater miscues to cut the lead to 11-6, but kills from Grimes and Lookabaugh boosted the Eagles lead to 14-6. The teams traded points before Mills put the ball down for a kill and Ashley Weik notched an ace to increase the lead to 22-11. The Generals were unable to recover as a service ace handed the Eagles the 25-13 win and 3-0 match victory.

Grimes paced the Eagles' offense with 11 kills and five blocks, followed Lookabaugh with nine kills and three blocks. Lindsay Kallam notched a match-high 29 assists and Mills chipped in 13 digs on the day.

Freshman Mackenzie Shand led the way for the Generals with 10 kills, followed by nine kills from M.A. Boles. Meghan Meleski dished out 12 assists, while Boles tallied a match-high 16 digs.

For the Eagles' second match of the day, they took on the Spirits from Salem College. Bridgewater rolled into the first set and won by a 25-15 tally. The Eagles continued the strong offensive efforts to take the second game 25-13 and followed it up with a 25-23 win in the third set to win the match 3-0.

The Eagles used early attack errors by Salem to build a 6-1 lead. Kills by Long, Grimes, and Kallam pushed the lead to 10-4. The two teams traded points over the middle of the set before the Eagles went on a three point run after a kill and service ace from Grimes and a solo block by Lookabaugh, putting Bridgewater up 21-12. The Eagles continued to push and kills from Kristen Trice and Carly Casto ended the set by a 25-15 tally.

To start the second set, the teams battled for the first few points, tying the game at 4 before Jette Wade served four straight and tallied an ace to put the Eagles up 9-4. A Casto kill sparked a seven point run for the Eagles with a kill from Allison Moore during the stretch, boosting the Eagle lead to 20-8. Salem cut the lead to 22-13, but a Wade kill and a few Spirit errors handed Bridgewater the 25-13 win.

Salem jumped to an early 7-4 lead in the third frame, but the Eagles quickly tied it up at 8 with kills from Trice and Rachel Donaldson. The teams continued to battle and proceeded to tie the game up five more times before a kill by Trice gave Bridgewater a 17-15 advantage. Salem fought back to take a 23-22 lead, but Trice and Donaldson notched back-to-back kills to give Bridgewater the hard-fought 25-23 victory.

With nine kills, Casto led the offense for the Eagles, followed by Trice with seven. Shannon Skellchock dished out 19 assists in the match and Hogan and Chelsea Owensby chipped in 11 digs each.

Roslyn Nixon notched 13 kills and paced the way for the Spirits, while Chelsea Jones added 26 assists. Amber Bass tallied 13 digs on the day.

Bridgewater is back in action next Saturday as it takes on ODAC rival Eastern Mennonite and Catholic University for a home tri-match. First serve is set for 11 a.m.