HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Bridgewater College volleyball team opened its season with a 1-1 start at the EMU Invitational on Friday.

Match One: Bridgewater 3, Hood 2 (16-25, 15-25, 25-17, 25-23, 7-15)

Bridgewater held off Hood in a five-set thriller after beginning the contest with a 2-0 lead.

BC got off to a sluggish start in set one as Hood took an early 3-1 advantage. Nonetheless, a spike from senior Abby Mills tied the score 5-all and ignited a 9-4 rally that put the Eagles ahead 14-9 later in the frame.

Sophomore setter Jenna Hamra surprised the Hood defense with a sneaky kill to increase the margin to 17-11, and she used the same move to score game-point for BC.

The Eagles pulled away in the second set with a 9-3 run to take a commanding 19-10 advantage. Junior Carleigh Studtmann dialed a service ace to break the 20-mark, and Mills scored the Eagles next two points for a 22-13 lead.

A service ace by Mills gave the Eagles game-point, and Long finished the set off with a spike to take the 2-0 match lead.

However, the Eagles gave the Blazers life in the third set after committing its most errors in a game with 10. The Blazers got off to a 12-8 start, and pulled off an 8-3 rally to increase their lead, 20-12. Hood earned game-point on an attack error by Long.

The Blazers carried their momentum into the fourth game to force a fifth set. Both teams struggled offensively with a 10-9 kill comparison, but Hood's 4-8 error advantage made the difference.

Late in the fourth period, sophomore Sydney McTigue recorded a service ace to cut into the Blazers' lead, 17-15. The Blazers scored game point on a bad set by sophomore Victoria Wilson, but the Eagles dug deep and produced five unanswered points before losing the game, 25-23.

The Eagles revived its offense in the fifth set with nine kills on a .471 hitting percentage and cut back on the mistakes by committing only one error.

BC started the final set with a 3-0 margin and maintained a vice grip on its lead. Freshman Rachel Gaston hammered a spike to go up 12-5 and a few possessions later Long closed out the contest with the match-winning kill.

Mills paced the team with a double-double effort, posting 11 kills and digs each to go along with four service aces.

Match Two: Catholic 3, Bridgewater 1 (22-25, 21-25, 25-19, 19-25)

Immediately following the dramatic victory over Hood, Bridgewater took on Catholic for its second match of the doubleheader.

The Eagles had three players finish with double-doubles despite the non-conference defeat. Mills recorded 20 kills and 17 digs, Gaston collected 11 kills and 12 digs and Hamra finished the contest with 48 assists and 17 digs.

Studtmann also had a solid outing with 17 kills on an efficient .343 hitting percentage.

The Eagles went down 2-0 in the match, but continued to fight by taking game three to avoid the sweep.

Late in the third period, Studtmann hammered a kill for a comfortable 19-13 lead. A multitude of errors by the Cardinals and a couple more kills by the Eagles allowed BC to claim game three.

However, the Cardinals responded in the fourth set with an early 12-5 advantage. The Cardinals continued to cushion its lead through the period and a spike from Kathryn Herrington gave the team match-point, 24-17.

Mills scored back-to-back points, but the comeback attempt was cut short after Catholic sealed the win on a kill by Tara Rempel.

The Eagles are back in action tomorrow at the EMU Invitational with a doubleheader against Goucher (10:00 a.m.) and Salem (2:00 p.m.).