LEXINGTON, Va. — Senior outside hitter Brynne Gould (Boone, N.C./Watauga) totaled 17 kills to lead the Washington and Lee volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over Bridgewater on Saturday in the team's first contest in Holekamp Gym.
 
The Generals (1-0, 1-0 ODAC) jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the opening set, but the Eagles (0-1, 0-1 ODAC) responded with a 9-4 spurt to tie the score, 14-14. Bridgewater kept the pressure on and soon assumed a 24-20 advantage.
 
The Blue and White fought off four straight set points on a kill by Gould, an attack error by Bridgewater, a combined block by junior middle blocker Katy Blain (West Palm Beach, Fla./Benjamin School) and Gould and then a combined block by senior outside hitter Leah Green (Longwood, Fla./Lake Highland Preparatory School) and Blain. The Eagles answered with back-to-back points, with junior outside hitter Hope Jennings giving Bridgewater the set, 26-24, on a kill.
 
In the second, the teams were tied, 6-6, but then a kill by junior outside hitter Carson Allsteadt (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) ignited a 4-0 run, as W&L assumed a 10-6 lead. Leading 12-9 a little later, sophomore setter Ashley Webb (Thousand Oaks, Calif./Westlake) notched a kill to begin another 4-0 spurt to extend the advantage to 16-9. The Generals held on to win the stanza, 25-19.  
 
After falling behind, 4-2, in the third, the Blue and White scored seven straight points, capped on a kill by Blain, to grab a 9-4 lead. Bridgewater trimmed the margin to four (11-7), but then a 12-1 onslaught by the Generals put the set away, as they cruised to a 25-11 third set win.
 
The momentum carried over to the fourth, with W&L taking a 7-1 advantage after the first eight points. The Eagles never really threatened the rest of the way, as the Generals won the set, 25-15, to take the match.
 
Gould was one of three Generals to register double-digit kills. Blain tied a career-best 10 kills on 18 swings for a .500 hitting percentage. She also had six blocks. Sophomore outside hitter Maggie McSwain (Atlanta, Ga./Westminster) also tied a career-best with 10 kills on a .421 hitting percentage to go with four digs.
 
Sophomore defensive specialist Caroline Gard (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) led all players with 21 digs. Webb totaled 42 assists, four kills and four digs.
 
Senior middle blocker Courtney Berry (Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle) had eight kills, three aces, five digs and four blocks. With the four blocks, she moved into a tie for fifth on the W&L career list with 339.
 
The Blue and White's defense held the Eagles to just a .068 hitting percentage, while the Generals hit .254.
 
First-year outside hitter Ashley Casey totaled a team-best 11 kills for Bridgewater, while senior libero Jyailah Friendly and sophomore setter Grace Hayes each had 14 digs.
 
W&L played Ferrum later on Saturday.