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BRIDGEWATER, Va. – Senior Megann Grimes tallied a game-high 18 kills and sophomore Abby Mills added a double-double as the Bridgewater Eagles volleyball team rolled past visiting Randolph College by a 3-1 tally on Wednesday evening in Nininger Hall.

Bridgewater claimed the first set by a 25-18 tally before Randolph earned a hard-fought 33-31 win in set number two. The Eagles controlled set three with a 25-14 victory before closing out the evening with a 25-22 win in set four in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) opener for both squads.

Both teams traded points early in the opening set as the game was deadlocked at a 9-9 score before Bridgewater gained the upper hand. Bridgewater (4-7, 1-0 ODAC) took advantage of numerous miscues and freshman Carleigh Studtmann pounded down two kills in a 6-0 run from the Eagles as the hosts took a 14-9 lead. A service error from the Eagles ended the run but Mills followed with a pair of kills and the Eagles controlled the remainder of the first set in a 25-18 win. Bridgewater hit at a blistering .389 clip in the opening set of the evening with 16 kills and just two errors.

Set number two saw more of the same from Randolph before the visiting WildCats stormed back from a major deficit. Two Randolph (9-5, 0-1 ODAC) attack errors, coupled with a Studtmann kill and a Nikki Snyder service ace allowed Bridgewater to open up a 13-7 advantage midway through the set. Back-to-back kills from Grimes handed Bridgewater a 20-14 lead as the Eagles looked to take the first two sets of the evening with ease. Randolph climbed back into the set, due in large part to the swing of Alex Mariona. Mariona tallied five kills over the stretch run of the second set as WildCats stormed back to earn a 33-31 win, tying the match at a set each.

Bridgewater ripped off five straight points as Sarah Temple, Studtmann and Mills each tallied kills to give the Eagles a 5-1 lead and force a Randolph timeout. The WildCats cut the gap down at an 8-5 margin before two kills each from Megan Lookabaugh and Grimes pushed the lead to seven. Bridgewater ran away with the remainder of the set to earn a 25-14 victory and a 2-1 match lead.

In the fourth set, both teams committed numerous errors to keep the set close. Late in the set, the WildCats tallied a pair of kills to close the gap to 24-21 but a service error on Randolph was followed up by a Courtney Thornburg match-ending service ace to hand the Eagles a 25-21 win and a 3-1 match victory.

Grimes was impressive on the evening tallying a game-high 18 kills. The senior hit at a stellar .448 attack percentage. Mills chipped in 16 kills and a dozen digs to post a double-double while Studtmann was nearly perfect on the attack, pounding down 13 kills with no errors for a blistering .650 attack percentage.

Shannon Skellchock dished out a game-high 54 assists to lead the Eagles while Snyder registered a game-high 19 digs to lead the defensive unit.

Randolph was led by a 17-kill evening from Jordan Templin. Templin also tallied a double-double with 18 digs. Mariona chipped in 15 kills while Katherine Lesnak added a dozen kills and 16 digs for a double-double evening.

Bridgewater hit at a .295 clip on the evening while Randolph was limited to a .196 attack percentage.

The Eagles return to action on Friday at Shenandoah. Start time is set for 7 p.m.