College Volleyball Final – Bridgewater 3, Guilford 2

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Rachel Gaston had 17 kills and Deja Booker added 12 as visiting Bridgewater College pulled out a 3-2 Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) volleyball win at Guilford College Saturday.

The hard-fought 25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11 victory snaps Bridgewater’s two-game losing streak and raises the Eagles’ overall record to 12-3 (3-1 ODAC). Guilford falls to 7-5 (2-2 ODAC) with its third loss in four outings.

As the scores indicate, the match was close throughout. There were 31 ties and 13 lead changes. The final lead change took place in the fifth set as Bridgewater overcame an 8-7 deficit. After the teams swapped benches in the last set, the Eagles won the next five points to open a 12-8 lead. Guilford twice closed to three points before Carleigh Studtmann’s 10th and final kill sealed the win on the Eagles’ second match point.

Bridgewater senior libero Macon Frey kept her team in many points with a match-best 37 digs. She also served up five of her team’s 10 aces. Jenna Hamra contributed 12 digs and three aces on the back row. Setter Victoria Wilson enjoyed a strong match with six kills, 48 assists, 12 digs and five blocks. Studtmann hit .444 in the match and also tallied eight blocks. Booker came on strong down the stretch with seven of her 12 putaways in the final two sets.

Christian Ritter paced Guilford with 16 kills and 19 assists. Morgan Tompkins added 12 kills and 17 digs. Jessica Sheek had 10 kills, three aces, and a block. Michaela Allred chipped in nine putaways on .301 hitting and also had three blocks. Setter Tina Eucker had 48 assists, two aces, and eight digs. Casey Davis (8 kills) and McKinley Durham picked up 18 digs apiece.

Coach Emily Gann’s Quakers conclude a five-match homestand Wednesday versus ODAC-rival Randolph College at 7:00 p.m.