BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Senior Katie Long paced the Eagles' offense with 13 kills in the Eagles' 3-0 sweep over Eastern Mennonite, followed by 12 kills in the 3-1 victory over Catholic University on Saturday in Nininger Hall.

Bridgewater fought with Eastern Mennonite in the first set to take it by a 25-21 tally. The Eagles continued the momentum as they rolled to 25-16 and 25-15 wins, respectively.

Coming out of the gates, Bridgewater took an early 11-2 lead, taking advantage of early Royals' errors. Eastern Mennonite cut the lead to 12-8, but kills from Lindsay Kallam and Megan Lookabaugh pushed the Eagles up 15-8 and forcing an EMU timeout. Out of the stoppage, the Royals went on a 7-0 run to bring the lead to within one, 16-15. A kill from the swing of Maddy Carter and a number of Eastern Mennonite mishaps gave the Eagles a 23-17 advantage. The Royals trimmed the Eagle lead to 23-20, but kills from Kallam and Abby Mills ended the game, giving Bridgewater the 25-21 win.

In game two, the Eagles jumped out early and with kills from Katie Long, Megann Grimes and Mills, they built an 18-4 lead. Eastern Mennonite fought back by using Bridgewater errors and offensive efforts to bring the game to 23-16. The Royals were unable to recover as Lookabaugh put a kill away to hand Bridgewater the 25-16 victory.

The two teams traded points early in the third frame, but the Eagles went on a four point run to pull ahead, 10-5, with kills from Mills and Carter and a service ace from Kallam. Back-to-back kills from Long boosted the lead to 15-9. The Royals battled back to cut the lead to 21-14, but two big blocks by the Eagles and a Long kill ended the set, 25-15 and gave the Eagles the 3-0 match victory.

Long and Mills both tallied 13 kills to pace the offense for the Eagles, with Long hitting a .345 percentage on the day. Kallam dished out 32 assists and had two service aces, while Mara Hogan notched a team-high 19 kills with two aces as well.

For the Royals, McKenna Carter led the team with seven kills and Dani Driver recorded 20 assists. Katie Miller chipped in 19 digs on the day.

For game two against the Catholic University Cardinals, the Eagles came from behind in the first set to take it 25-19. They charged through the second game, winning it by a 25-11 tally, but fell short in the third set, 25-21. In the fourth set, the teams battled in the beginning, but the Eagles finally pulled through to take home the 25-18 win and 3-1 match victory.

The Cardinals jumped to an early 5-0 lead in game 1 before a kill by Long forced the side out. The teams traded points until two kills from Lookabaugh cut the lead to 10-8. Catholic pulled ahead, 13-10, but a kill from Carter sparked a three point run for the Eagles to give them their first lead of the game, 14-13. Grimes bookended a four point run with kills as the Eagles pulled ahead 19-14. An ace from Mills gave the Eagles a 24-18 advantage and Long notched a kill to hand Bridgewater the 25-19 win.

The Eagles took advantage of Early Catholic errors in game two to build an 8-4 lead. Kills from Grimes, Long, and Kallam and an ace from Chelsea Owensby pushed the lead to 17-5. The Cardinals were unable to recover from Bridgewater's strong offensive efforts and fell 25-11, giving Bridgewater a 2-0 match advantage.

In the third frame, the Eagles had strong offensive efforts early on from Long, Mills, and Lookabaugh to build an 11-4 lead. Catholic went on a four point run to cut the lead to 11-8, but a Long kill forced the side out. The Cardinals earned it back and took advantage of Bridgewater errors mid-set to tie the game numerous times. A kill from Carter locked the game at 20-20, but two Bridgewater mishaps gave the Cardinals a 22-20 lead and forced an Eagle timeout. Out of the break, Carter notched another kill to cut the lead to 23-21, but the Eagles fell by a 25-21 tally.

The two teams traded points early in the fourth set and the Cardinals were able to take a 7-3 lead. The Eagles responded with a five point run, giving them an 8-7 advantage. Bridgewater maintained the lead over the next few points and Mills bookended a four point run with kills to put the Eagles up 19-14, forcing a Catholic timeout. The teams traded late errors, but back-to-back kills from Grimes and Long handed Bridgewater the 25-18 win and 3-1 match victory.

Grimes tallied 13 kills and four blocks to lead the Eagles' offense, hitting a .357 clip. Long followed close behind Grimes with 12 kills. Lookabaugh and Kallam both recorded five blocks and Kallam also dished out a match-high 43 assists. Mills and Owensby both tallied two service aces, while Hogan led the defense with 23 digs.

Kathryn Herrington paced the Cardinals' offense with 13 kills and Mariana Cruz notched 30 assists. Michelle Bouchard chipped in 21 digs for the game.

Bridgewater is back in action on Saturday when it travels to Averett University to face Averett and Ferrum College. Game time is set for 11 a.m.