BRIDGEWATER, Va. — The fifth-seeded Washington and Lee volleyball team had four players notch at least eight kills in a 3-1 victory over fourth-seeded Bridgewater in the quarterfinals of the ODAC Tournament on Wednesday at Nininger Hall.
The Generals (24-9) had a 2-0 lead in the match after winning the first set, 25-23, and the second, 25-21. The Eagles (23-7) led, 10-9, in the third, but then went on a 7-3 run to extend the gap to 17-12. W&L cut into the lead, but Bridgewater held on to take the stanza, 25-21.
In the fourth, the squads were tied, 6-6, but following a bad set by the Eagles, junior middle blocker
Courtney Berry (Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle) and junior outside hitter
Leah Green (Longwood, Fla./Lake Highland Preparatory School) registered a combined block and then a kill by Berry gave W&L a 9-6 edge.
Bridgewater eventually tied the contest, 11-11, but then the Blue and White tallied three straight points to assume 14-11 lead. The Eagles then tied the match, 18-18, but a combo block from Berry and first-year setter
Ashley Webb (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake), a kill by Webb and an attack error by Bridgewater allowed W&L to regain a three-point spread (21-18).
The Generals led, 24-21, a few points later, but a kill by senior outside hitter Rachel Gaston pulled the Eagles to within two, 24-22. W&L then closed out the set, 25-22, and the match, 3-1, on an attack error by Gaston.
Junior outside hitter
Brynne Gould (Boone, N.C./Watauga) led the Generals with 12 kills, 13 digs and three aces. She now has 445 kills on the season and 998 in her career.
Junior right side
Kiera Borthwick (Northville, Mich./Northville) totaled 11 kills on a .300 hitting percentage with 11 digs. Berry had nine kills and four blocks. She now has 114 blocks this season, which is the seventh-best single-season total in program history. She also moved to sixth on the W&L career blocks list with 326 in her three seasons.
Green finished the night with eight kills and five digs. Webb had 36 assists, 14 digs and three kills. First-year defensive specialist
Caroline Gard (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) registered a match-high 29 digs. She pushed her season total to 580, which is the second-best mark in program history. Lauren Edmonson '07 holds the all-time record with 662.
Gaston led Bridgewater with 18 kills, but hit just .094. She also had 19 digs. Senior defensive specialist Taylor McNeeley contributed 28 digs.
The Generals play top-seeded Randolph-Macon in the semifinals of the league tournament on Friday at Crenshaw Gym at 5:00 pm.
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