EMU's volleyball women came up short against rival Bridgewater College Tuesday night at home, dropping a 3-0 decision. The Royals struggled to find consistency as they fell to 9-13 overall and 2-5 in the ODAC.

The quest to clinch a spot in the upcoming ODAC Tournament continues this weekend with two road matches. The women play an important match at Virginia Wesleyan Friday night at 7:00pm before playing at traditional powerhouse Randolph-Macon Saturday at noon.

Against Bridgewater (17-4/6-1 ODAC), the Royals came out swinging. They scored their first six points on kills and held an early 7-4 lead. BC flipped the momentum and led by as many as 23-13, but the women weren't done, connecting on a 6-0 run to force an Eagle timeout. The visitors then settled down and got the needed two points to win, 25-20.

Bridgewater opened with a 9-3 lead in the second but EMU quickly cut the margin to 12-9 and then 15-13. The teams traded 3-0 runs and were still close at 20-18. The Eagles landed a couple of kills to get a little breathing space and held Eastern Mennonite at length, winning 25-21.

The Royals then fell in a 6-1 hole to start the third and never recovered, ending the night on a 25-14 decision.

The visiting Eagles simply out-hit EMU, .273 to .042. Becca Hardy (Port Republic, Va./Eastern Mennonite) and Meredith Stinnette (Lynch Station, Va./Altavista) each had seven kills to lead the Royals. Jasmine Johnson (Staunton, Va./Robert E. Lee) put up 23 assists.

Sam Jacob (Harrisonburg, Va./Eastern Mennonite) led the back row with 10 digs and libero Skyler Johnson (Harrisonburg, Va./Harrisonburg) added seven.

Abby Mills led Bridgewater with 13 kills. Carleigh Studtmann had eight kills and four blocks.

Coach Carrie Bert said building consistency is the key for her team to qualify for the ODAC Tournament: