BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Bridgewater College volleyball team defeated Salem College in four sets on Friday night in Nininger Hall to open the Route 42 Classic. 

The Eagles returned to Nininger Hall with a packed house of Bridgewater fans behind them. Ashley Casey pushed Bridgewater to a 19-8 lead with a seven-point service run to open the match. Ann-Marie Johnson and Rachael Meyers teammed up for a block to close the set and give the Eagles the 25-12 set victory.

Grace Hayes continued the excellent serving for Bridgewater in the second set with nine consecutive trips behind the line that featured kills from Meyers, Lisa O'Grady and Hope Jennings. Salem kept it close, coming within two of the home team at 21-19. An Ashley Rutherford kill gave the Eagles the ball back at 22-19, and two Spirit errors and a Jessica Bissmeyer ace put the Eagles up 2-0 with the 25-19 set win.

The teams traded points throughout the third with BC taking their first lead of the set at 10-8. Salem capitalized on Eagle errors to go up 21-17 and held on for the 25-21 win.

Set four was all Eagles from start to finish. Johnson recorded five kills in the set to lead Bridgewater to the 25-13 set win and a 3-1 victory. 

Johnson was solid at the net, recording nine kills on 14 swings with zero errors for a .643 hitting percentage. Jennings paced the Eagles with a match-high 13 kills followed by O'Grady with 11. Bissmeyer posted 15 digs and Hayes recorded 35 assists. Rutherford had 12 assists, three kills and eight digs in her debut. 

Bridgewater returns to action tomorrow when they face Eastern Mennonite and Marymount on day two of the Route 42 Classic.