SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Bridgewater College men's volleyball fell to Wittenberg and No. 13 Loras at the Springfield Volleyball Showcase on the road Friday night.
The Basics
Match 1 score: Wittenberg Tigers (WU) 3, Bridgewater Eagles (BCE) 0
Match 2 score: Loras Duhawks (LC) 3, Bridgewater Eagles (BCE) 0
Records: BCE (2-8); WU (6-2), LC (8-0)
How It Happened
Match 1
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The Eagles struggled to gain traction against an offensive-heavy force from Wittenberg. In the opening set, the Tigers found their way offensively knocking down continuous kills throughout the set and building solid momentum. BCE exerted efforts to tie at eight apiece, but Wittenberg did not go away. A six-point scoring surge launched a 15-8 lead for the Tigers, stifling any control the Eagles could muster. The Tigers took the first set, 25-16.
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Wittenberg again led the second set the whole way through. The offense limited errors and the Eagles continued to struggle to find any momentum swings. The Tigers broke away with another confident scoring run to double the lead. The early separation was all the Tigers needed to close out the set. WU finished the second set, 25-14.
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More attack errors early in the set pushed back the Eagles in uncomfortable offensive pressure. WU quickly went up 8-4, adding three kills to shape the offensive power. BCE hung in and pieced together consecutive attacks by Jovan Lapera and Isaiah White to challenge the Tigers and drop the deficit to 14-12. Aiden Weaver shortly after handled offensive strikes well nailing the team's third straight point from a kill. The Eagles charged closer to an opening at a one-point deficit at 19-18. However, the Tigers handled the late charge by the Eagles successfully and closed out the match in three sets with a final set score of 25-20.
Match 2
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Although both, Bridgewater and nationally ranked Loras came out with early errors, Loras settled in first to break open a lead in the opening set. BCE stayed close and fought through the attack errors, but the Loras Duhawks stopped a lot of the momentum for BCE. Loras kept firing and eventually landed defining blows throughout the set. A five-point scoring burst for the Duhawks pushed the Eagles behind to take the first set, 25-17.
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In the second set, Loras pressed the gas even more, breaking out to a 5-0 run to start. The Eagles struggled to gain consistency running into more attack errors. Loras spiked down the seventh kill in the set to double the advantage at 14-7. The Duhawks kept a comfortable lead the rest of the way, stopping any potential momentum swings for BCE. Loras took the second set, 25-14.
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Loras found its spots to attack and continued to power through with BCE looking to narrow the gap. In the third set, Loras forced a strong start to make it 8-2. The first timeout was taken for the Eagles early in the set. The Duhawks left nothing back and poured on a seven-point run to go up 16-3. Loras was in full control with constant pressure offensively. Loras closed out the match in three sets with a 25-9 third set score.
Match Notes
Match 1
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Aiden Weaver showed a fight on both sides of the ball for the Eagles despite the shortcoming, with five kills, seven digs, and three total blocks.
Match 2
Up Next
The Eagles are back in action at home for the first time in program history for a tri-match against Va. Wesleyan and Wilson on Feb. 14.
