Box Score
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The fifth-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team rolled to its 18th straight victory as the Captains took down Mary Baldwin, 3-0 (25-3, 25-9, 25-11), during the squad's final home USA South match on Wednesday evening at the Freeman Center.

The CNU attack was on-point all night, hitting .500 against the Fighting Squirrels. Jessie Kolden led the way after connecting on all seven of her swings, while Abby McIntyre blistered seven kills as well. The team also continued its recent run of success at the service line, launching 14 aces, including three by Abby Hogge.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 26-2 on the season, including 8-0 in conference action. Mary Baldwin falls to 0-21 to go along with an 0-9 mark in the USA South.

In the first set against the Fighting Squirrels, Kolden pieced together one of the finest efforts of the season. Leading the Captains on a 7-0 run to kick off the frame, the sophomore sensation blasted a kill to open the scoring before chipping in with a pair of aces to help the team's cause.

After Christie Fellows launched back-to-back rockets and Hogge, McIntyre, and Brooke Moore smacked aces in the middle of the set, the Captains found themselves leading by an incredible 18-3 margin. From there, Kolden took control. The Alexandria native fired consecutive kills before Katie Jarrett ripped an ace. Following a Mary Baldwin timeout, Kolden unloaded four straight bullets to cap off the first set, 25-3.

In the second set, Terran Bargeron got things rolling with a well-rounded performance in the beginning of the frame. The second-year standout posted two kills, a pair of aces, and two assists as the Captains vaulted out to an 11-5 advantage. Later, Krista Hughes added two lasers to push the lead to 15-7.

With a nine-point edge, CNU cruised to the victory. During a seven-point run late in the frame, Hogge lined two aces, while McIntyre uncorked three kills. After securing a 22-7 lead, the Captains took advantage of three Mary Baldwin miscues late in the frame to capture a 25-9 win.

Following the same script that worked in the first two sets, the Captains jumped out to another fast start in the third and never looked back. Kara Elder roped an ace while McIntyre posted two more blasts on the way to a 9-1 lead. After the Fighting Squirrels momentarily broke up CNU's early run, McIntyre came back with another kill before Rachel Conway chipped in with an ace to push the score to 14-2.

Trailing by 12, Mary Baldwin had its finest run of the match in the middle of the frame, capturing seven of 10 rallies to pull back within eight at 17-9. Despite the surge, CNU found its footing again. Chance Rye roped back-to-back kills before Jess Feddersen fired an ace. Following a timeout, Conway added a kill and assisted on a pair of Krista Hughes' blasts to secure a 24-10 lead. After the Fighting Squirrels fended off match point for one rally, Cory Harris ended the contest after dumping a shot that capped a 25-11 win.

Conway finished the bout with a match-high 15 assists after Alyssa Kidd dished out 12 in the first set. Hogge paced the defense with nine digs, while Elder added seven and converted all five of her reception attempts.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday when the squad travels to Danville, Virginia for a USA South Tri-Match with Piedmont and Averett. Action begins at 2 p.m.

---CNU---