Sometimes what is happening off the floor is just as important as what is happening on it. Thursday night the Lady Royals hosted rival Bridgewater and while the match had a bearing on conference standings it was also Dig Pink Night, as the teams came together to raise awareness and money to help fight against breast cancer. While the Eagles won the match, the fans raised $526.25 for the cause.

Before the match started, the two coaches spoke briefly about why they decided to host a Dig Pink Night. Domino's Pizza also helped sponsor the evening, providing free pizzas for a serving contest.

On the court, Bridgewater quickly took control in game one and cruised to a 25-13 decision.

The Lady Royals flipped a switch for game two, and zipped to a 16-7 lead behind the serving of Jessica Goertzen (Goessel, Ks./Goessel) and the hitting of Monika Burkholder (Linville, Va./Eastern Mennonite). The Eagles used a 6-0 run to get within 18-16, but EMU regained control and took a 25-20 win.

After a long break for the serving contest, Bridgewater regained dominance in set three, romping to an 11-2 edge. The women never got closer than six and lost 25-11.

The Lady Royals scored the first three points of the fourth set before succombing to a 25-17 loss to end the match.

Goertzen finished with 23 assists, 10 digs and four service aces. Tabitha Bowman (Waynesboro, Va./Stuarts Draft) had 11 kills and Burkholder finished with seven and 1.5 blocks. Elisa Troyer (Harrisonburg, Va./Broadway) added nine kills and 10 digs.

Libero Brittany Childress (Gloucester, Va./Christchurch) led all players with 18 digs. Rachel Lehman (Chambersburg, Pa./Shalom Christian Academy) had 14 digs.

With the loss, the Lady Royals move to 3-17 overall and 0-8 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. They have a few days off before playing a non-conference game at Southern Virginia on Tuesday, Oct. 19.