WASHINGTON, D.C. – After a hard fought game first game against the Marymount Saints, the Eagles drop 3-1, but win a well-deserved 3-2 battle against Gallaudet University to close Friday evening out at the Worthington Classic held in the nation's capital.

In the evening's opening game against Marymount, the Eagles lost 28-26 in a hard-fought first game. The Eagles dropped the second game 25-23, before battling back and claiming the third game, 25-20. The Saints took the last game by a 25-13 tally to take home the victory.

The Eagles jumped to an early 2-0 lead and managed to hold the lead until the Saints tied the game at 15 after back-to-back Bridgewater miscues. Kills by Katie Long and Abby Mills and a service ace by Chelsea Owensby forced Marymount to call a timeout with a score of 18-16. In the remaining points of the game, the two teams traded points until a Long kill locked the game at 26-26. A Marymount kill and Bridgewater error handed the Saints the 28-26 win.

To start the second game, the teams exchanged points before went on a 6-0 run sparked by a Megann Grimes service ace. Maddy Carter and Lindsay Kallam added kills during the stretch and Grimes notched another ace to put the Eagles up 9-4.

Marymount used its strong offensive efforts to go on a run of its own, but a service error by the Saints tied the game up at 18. A Grimes kill and a Marymount attack error allowed the Eagles to lock it back up at 23-23. Back-to-back kills for the Saints closed out the game and handed them the 25-23 win.

Points were traded back and forth in the third game, but Bridgewater took advantage of a number of Saints' miscues and brought the game to a 9-9 tally. A kill by Carter with the Eagles down 14-11 ignited the offensive efforts for the Eagles. Three kills each by Grimes and Mills allowed the Eagles to build a 19-16 lead. Bridgewater used the late Marymount errors before a Carter kill ended the match and giving the Eagles a 25-20 victory.

The teams came out fighting in the fourth game and a kill by Long locked the game at 5-5. The Saints took advantage of Bridgewater mishaps and forced the Eagles to call a timeout at a score of 12-7. A Carter kill and a service ace by Owensby cut the lead to 14-10. Marymount went on a 3-0 run before being cut off by a Long kill, making the score 21-12. Bridgewater was unable to recover and lost the set 25-13.

Long paced the way for the Eagles with 15 kills and Grimes chipped in nine kills and two blocks. Shannon Skellchock tallied 30 assists on the game, while Mills added a game-high 19 digs.

Bridgewater turned up the heat in the second match of the night as it jumped ahead to an early 10-4 lead with multiple kills from Grimes, Long, and Carter. A number of Bison errors allowed Bridgewater to boost their lead to 16-6. The Bison went on a 4-0 run before a Grimes kill ended the streak. Gallaudet continued to fight back, but was never able to recover as the Eagles won by a 25-22 tally.

The teams traded points for the beginning of the second frame before a Long kill sparked a 5-0 run. Long added three more kills during the stretch, along with two from Carter and Grimes. Gallaudet went on a few runs of its own to earn a 19-16 lead, but a kill by Rachel Donaldson ended the streak. A Skellchock ace and back-to-back Carter kills gave the Eagles the 20-19 lead.

For the remainder of the game, the teams locked the game up at 23, 24, and 25, pushing it into extra points. A Grimes kill and a service ace by Ashley Weik earned Bridgewater the 27-25 victory.

In the third set, the teams traded runs for a majority of the game before back-to-back kills by Grimes and another Weik ace gave the Eagles a 16-14 lead. Gallaudet earned back the momentum and took advantage of Bridgewater miscues as they took the lead, 21-20, forcing an Eagle timeout. Bridgewater was unable to gain control after the timeout and fell by a 25-23 tally.

Gallaudet jumped to an early 10-6 lead in the fourth before kills from Carter and Long cut the lead to 12-11. The Bison used late Bridgewater errors to boost their lead to 20-16, but back-to-back kills by Mills put the Eagles within two, 22-20. Bridgewater were unable to come within reach as it lost the fourth set, 25-21 and sending it into the deciding frame.

A Donaldson kill opened up the fifth set in the Eagles' favor and three straight kills by Long gave Bridgewater a 5-2 advantage. Gallaudet used some Eagles mishaps to battle back and cut the lead to 7-5. A bad set by the Bison forced the court flip, giving the Eagles the upper hand. Long put the ball down to give the Eagles an 11-8 lead and forced a Bison timeout.

Carter notched a kill coming out of the stoppage and Grimes contributed with a kill of her own to put the Eagles up 14-9. Gallaudet tried to fight back and came within two, 14-12, but were unable to close as the Eagles were handed the well-fought 15-12 victory.

The Eagles had four players with double-digit kills, led by Long with 19 and followed by Grimes with 13 and Carter with 10. Mills also had 10 kills and also tallied 21 digs to earn the double-double. Skellchock dished out a game-high 49 assists, while Owensby notched 25 digs out of the team's total of 99.

For the Bison, Kali Frowick paced the offensive efforts with 15 kills, while Tarja Lewis added 36 assists and Kate Fetzer chipped in 23 digs.

The Eagles are set to play North Park at 10 a.m. for the second day of the Worthington Classic. The second match is to be determined.