Box Score
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Senior middle blocker Bailey Jensen pieced together another historic performance and took down CNU's career blocks record while helping the fifth-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team cruise past Randolph-Macon, 3-1 (26-28, 25-17, 25-22, 25-20), on Friday evening at The Freeman Center.

During the match, Jensen posted five blocks, including a pair of solo stops. With that effort, she broke Oksana Boukhtina's career mark of 428, which she set during the 2002 campaign. Jensen now has 433 blocks during her outstanding tenure at CNU.

Just two weeks after collecting her 1000th career kill, Jensen also showed off her offensive chops, blistering a match-high 16 kills while hitting at a .467 clip. She was helped on that end by Jessie Kolden, who roped 13 blasts as well. Cory Harris and Christie Fellows also reached double-digit kills, while Alyssa Kidd dished out 49 assists and added 15 digs.

With the victory, the Captains improved to 18-2 on the season and extended their winning streak to 10 matches. The setback moved Randolph-Macon to 13-3 and snapped the Yellow Jackets' three-match roll.

In the first set, Randolph-Macon looked strong and hung with CNU. Although Jensen found her rhythm early, firing four quick kills while notching her record-setting block, the two teams found themselves deadlocked at 12. Later, an ace by Brooke Moore and back-to-back lasers by Harris and Kolden, gave the squad a little breathing room at 16-13.

Although another Jensen rocket help CNU sustain its three-point lead at 22-19, the Yellow Jackets came storming back. Courtney Lowers collected back-to-back kills and Jessica Sears added another to even the frame at 22. Two rallies later, the Captains earned set point, but Randolph-Macon continued to hang around and kept the stanza alive.

Eventually, a kill by Tori Puryear gave the Yellow Jackets set point at 25-24. This time, Chastity Lacy kept the game alive with a crushing blow for the Captains, but eventually, Puryear came back and teamed with Hilary Jessee to seal a first set victory for the visitors, 28-26.

Having suffered their first set loss of the season at home, the Captains came back with a vengeance. Jensen got them off on the right foot with another big blast before Abby Hogge uncorked a pair of aces on the way to a 5-0 lead. Later, CNU kept the pressure on in the middle of the frame as Fellows, Harris, and Kolden all launched kills, while Jensen and Kidd teamed up on a block to help the squad grab a seven-point advantage at 14-7.

With some wiggle room, the Captains never let the Yellow Jackets get much closer. Brooke Moore fired an ace, Lacy helped out on three late blocks, and Harris fired a pair of bullets to give the squad set point at 24-16. After Randolph-Macon held on for one more rally, Fellows added the punctuation mark with a kill that capped a 25-17 victory.

Even at one set apiece, the two teams engaged in a seesaw battle early in the third. Kolden blasted four quick kills, while Harris and Jensen each had two apiece on the way to a modest 13-11 edge. Randolph-Macon quickly answered as Courtney Lowers and Katie Rossberg joined forces on three straight blocks to give the Yellow Jackets a 14-13 lead heading into a CNU timeout.

From there, Randolph-Macon seemed to have an answer for every CNU rally before the Captains found their footing late in the set. With the Yellow Jackets still leading by one at 21-20, Jensen fired a pair of kills before Lacy added her own rocket to give Christopher Newport a 23-22 advantage. One rally later, following a Macon miscue, Lacy teamed up with Kolden for the clinching block that capped off a 25-22 win.

On top in the match for the first time, CNU had little interest in extending the contest any further. In the fourth set, Jensen went on another roll with three quick blasts before Lacy added a solo stop that helped the team gain a 6-3 advantage heading into a Yellow Jacket timeout.

Looking to extend their lead, the Captains turned to Fellows and Jensen, who both collected a pair of kills in the middle of the frame. Later, Fellows teamed up with Lacy on a block before crushing another laser on the way to a commanding 14-7 lead.

Although the visitors were able to chip their deficit down to three on several occasions, the Captains kept them at bay. Lacy continued her defensive dominance with two more blocks, before Fellows added a pair of kills on the way to set point at 24-20.

Following the perfect script, Jensen capped off her historic night with one last block. Teaming with Harris, the Ashburn, Virginia native sealed the four-set victory after sending back another Yellow Jacket attack to clinch the final frame, 25-20.

Helping Jensen on the defensive end, Lacy finished the match with eight blocks, while Hogge had 23 digs. Moore continued to shine at the service line, firing four aces.

Christopher Newport will return to action tomorrow when the squad hosts a USA South Tri-Match beginning at noon. The Captains will battle LaGrange in the first match of the day before returning to the court for a 4 p.m. showdown with Methodist.

---CNU---