Box Score
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- After being named the Most Valuable Player of the USA South Tournament last week, Cory Harris continued her spectacular postseason run with a phenomenal performance on Friday evening as the fifth-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team cruised past Washington & Lee, 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-20), during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Freeman Center.

During the match, Harris blasted 15 kills while hitting at a .556 clip. Making her return to the court, Bailey Jensen also made her presence felt immediately, collecting nine kills and six blocks. Christie Fellows also fired nine blasts during the contest, while Alyssa Kidd chipped in with a double-double after notching 35 assists and 11 digs.

With the victory, the Captains advance to the second round of the tournament where they will battle Randolph-Macon at 5 p.m. on Saturday. The win also extends their program-record winning streak to 29 and lifts their overall record to 37-2, which is currently the finest mark in the nation.

After missing the last week of action while recovering from an injury, Jensen found her rhythm from the start. Harris got the first set rolling with a kill before Jensen roped a rocket and collected back-to-back blocks on three consecutive rallies on the way to a modest 4-1 edge. Although Washington & Lee eventually responded and knotted the frame at 11, Jensen and Harris unloaded back-to-back tracers to break the deadlock before Lacy added three kills and a block during a sensational run that lifted the team to a 21-17 lead.

Although the Generals battled back again and pulled within one, the hosts remained unfazed. Harris chimed in with two late kills to give the Captains set-point before Jensen added the exclamation point to her return with the clinching dart that capped off a 25-22 victory.

After surviving a bit of a tough battle in the first set, Christopher Newport got out of the gates quickly in the second. Harris led the early surge, uncorking five rockets on the way to a 14-5 lead. Later, after the visitors pulled back within six at 16-10, the Captains went on a tremendous streak. The team capitalized on three straight General miscues before Harris blistered back-to-back kills and Kolden ripped an ace on the way to a commanding 22-10 lead.

A CNU error eventually broke the roll, but the hosts kept the momentum on their side. Closing out the frame in style, Fellows and Harris teamed up on back-to-back kills before one last W&L error gave the Captains a huge 25-11 victory.

Trailing by two sets, the Generals came out strong in the third. M.A. Boles pumped three early kills, while Anna Lausberg added a pair on the way to a 13-8 advantage for Washington & Lee. Refusing to go down quietly, Lacy and Kolden joined forces on a block to cut CNU's deficit to four before the squad orchestrated a huge roll in the middle of the set.

During a seven-point streak, which included four blocks by Jensen and kills by Lacy, Fellows, and Kara Elder, the hosts regained the lead at 16-14. After Washington & Lee knotted the set back up at 16 apiece, CNU made one final push. During a five-point run, which was bookended by a pair of Jensen bullets, Brooke Moore laced two aces as the team secured a 21-16 edge.

Looking to end the contest quickly, Harris and Kolden each ripped kills to give the Captains match-point at 24-20. Fittingly, after posting 11 blocks earlier in the bout, CNU saved one for the end as Lacy sent back a General attack to seal the set, 25-20.

Lacy tied Jensen for the team-lead with six blocks during the match, while Kidd assisted on five stops. Abby Hogge was also exceptional on the defensive end, chipping in with 15 digs. That bumped her total this year to 577, which now ranks fourth on the program's single-season list. Incredibly, she now holds the top four spots in CNU history.

In other first-round action at the Newport News Regional, No. 23 Juniata upended Trinity, 3-0, while No. 4 Emory swept Salem as well. The two advancing teams will face each other in the first match on Saturday, which begins at 2:30 p.m.

---CNU---