BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Catholic Cardinals picked up a sweep of Hood on Saturday afternoon before falling to host Bridgewater in a tri-match. The Cardinals remain at .500 for the season, sitting at 14-14 with three games to play in the regular season. 

Catholic 3-0 Hood (25-17, 25-19, 25-20)

Freshman Halie Murphy picked up her third straight double-double, tallying 10 kills and 10 digs in the match. Senior Brittany Connatser had eight kills for the Cardinals while sophomore Grace Guerin had seven kills, hitting .313. Sophomore Brynne Burgess had 18 digs in the libero spot for the Cardinals. 

Catholic trailed 8-7 early in the first set before taking the lead with a 4-0 run. Guerin and Murphy both had kills and freshman Erin Faughnan and juinor Sydney Sheppard combined on a block as the Cardinals took an 11-8 lead. 

A 4-0 run from Hood tied the set at 16, but Catholic took nine of the final 10 points to go up 1-0. Burgess picked up a pair of aces in the final stretch while Faughnan and Murphy each had a kill for Catholic. 

Mirroring the first set, Catholic held a slim lead at 11-10 after a 3-0 Hood run. Back-to-back Cardinal blocks put Catholic ahead 14-10. Another kill from Murphy put the Cardinals ahead 20-15. Hood cut it to three, but Faughnan chipped in with a pair of kills and Connatser and junior Olivia Blondin finished off the set with kills. 

Catholic jumped ahead quickly in the third, leading 6-1 after a Blondin ace and a Murphy kill. Hood fought back to 10-9, but Catholic ripped off a 6-0 run, getting a kill from freshman Claire Harris, an ace from Burgess, and a block from Faughnan and Harris. Hood cut it to 23-19 and 24-20, but Murphy and Guerin picked up the final two kills for a Catholic win. 

Catholic 0-3 Bridgewater (23-25, 25-27, 19-25)

A formidable offensive effort from Bridgewater gave them the advantage in Catholic's second match as the Eagles hit .240 and got 15 kills from Lisa O'Grady. 

Catholic played Bridgewater down to the wire in all three sets, forcing a 27-25 second set. For the match, Murphy and Connatser both had nine kills for the Cardinals. Faughnan added six kills and was involved in four blocks. Burgess and junior Gaby Hernandez-Ferraiuoli each had two service aces. 

The Cards led 13-8 in the first set after a kill from Connatser before Bridgewater chipped away and then took a 16-15 lead. An ace from Blondin retook the lead for Catholic at 17-16 and a kill from Faughnan gave the Cardinals the lead at 20-19, but Bridgewater took the first by a score of 25-23.

Once again the Cards took an early lead in the second and held the lead until late before a Bridgewater run stole the set. Catholic led 23-18 after a Connatser kill, but seven of the next eight points went to Bridgewater as they took a 25-24 lead before finishing it off 27-25.

A 7-1 run in the third set for Bridgewater flipped the script as they went on to take it 25-19.

Catholic hosts its final home match of the 2022 season, welcoming Elizabethtown to Franny Murray Court for a Landmark matchup.