HARRISONBURG, Va. – It was a postseason atmosphere…in the regular season.

EMU women's volleyball welcomed in ODAC, and cross-town, rival, Bridgewater, on Tuesday for a midweek showdown. The two teams swapped the first four sets before the Eagles claimed the fifth and final set to pick up a 3-2 (15-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12) win over EMU.

Records: EMU 7-8, 4-4 ODAC | Bridgewater 14-6, 8-0 ODAC

Highlights

Set One

Bridgewater pulled ahead 5-2 in the opening frame before the Royals responded, forcing a trio of Eagles errors and picking up a Paris Hutchinson ace to take a 6-5 lead. The teams would trade points to BC leading 12-11 before EMU went on an 8-0 run, highlighted by a Madison Stockner kill, three Megan Miller aces, two Hutchinson kills and a Stockner block to take a seven point lead. Bridgewater would pull within seven but it wasn't close again as kills from Lizzy Kirkton and Hutchinson ended the frame.

Set Two

BC pulled out to another 5-2 lead but just like in the first set, EMU battled back to tie things at five. Neither team was able to take more than a point lead throughout until, with things tied at 17, Bridgewater used a pair of points to pull ahead by two. An Eagle error brought EMU back to within one before BC ended the set on a run to tie things at one set apiece.

Set Three

Kills from Bri Leeper, Kirkton and Hutchinson, along with a Hutchinson ace and a block from Miller and Laney Cline, helped EMU out to an 8-2 lead in set three. The teams would trade points and Bridgewater was able to battle back to trail 16-18 before a 4-0 EMU tilt, highlighted by kills from Cline, Stockner and Leeper, along with a Leeper/Stockner block forced a BC timeout. The Royals were able to get to 24 but BC extended the set with three straight before an emphatic Kirkton kill put the Royals ahead 2-1.

Set Four

The Eagles jumped out to a 13-4 lead in the fourth and looked like they were cruising to a set win before the Royals rallied, scoring seven of the next eight points to cut the BC lead to three. The two teams would go back-and-forth with neither able to gain much momentum until, right after an Eagle error and a Leeper kill brought EMU within three at 19-22, the Eagles picked up the next three to send the match to a decisive fifth set.

Set Five

Three straight kills from Hutchinson and Kirkton put EMU ahead 3-2 to start the fifth but Bridgewater wouldn't go away. The Eagles were able to pull ahead by a point but EMU kept responding, continuing to tie things up to 10-all. Bridgewater scored two straight until Stockner added a kill to cut the lead to one, 12-11. Points from each team moved the score to 13-12 but, unfortunately, BC used back-to-back kills to wrap up the road win.

Statistical Leaders

• Hutchinson – 17 kills, 10 digs
• Kirkton – 13 kills, 13 digs
• Miller – 45 assists
• Stockner – 4 blocks

What's Next

EMU will hit the road this week for a pair of ODAC matchups. They'll start on Friday with a 7 pm match against the Quakers of Guilford College.

To keep up to date with everything surrounding the EMU women's volleyball program this year, follow EMU on Twitter and Instagram, like EMU Athletics on Facebook or visit our website.