Box Score

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Guided by an outstanding performance by its freshman class, the Christopher Newport volleyball team cruised to its second straight victory as the Captains took down Virginia Wesleyan, 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-18) on Friday evening at the Freeman Center.

During the match, Briana Sutton unloaded on the Marlins with 14 kills on just 24 swings. Fellow freshman Paxton Crooks also celebrated her birthday in fine fashion as the first-year standout notched a double-double with 11 assists and a career-high 13 digs. Evelyn Harper also shined on the back row, plucking a season-high 10 digs for the Captains.

Among the squad's veteran contingent, Rachel Conway helped pace the attack with a match-high 20 assists, while Chastity Lacy secured four blocks. Krista Hughes also tallied seven kills against Virginia Wesleyan.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 13-11 on the season. The setback drops the Marlins to 11-9.

In the beginning of the first set, the two teams looked evenly matched as they traded blows, including a sensational solo block by Lacy and back-to-back bullets by Abby McIntyre and Hannah Miller. Later, Miller and Conway teamed up on a rejection to keep the set tied at 10 before Conway added another stop and Sutton unleashed a blast to take a 14-11 edge.

Although the visitors whittled their deficit down to one, CNU never relinquished the lead. Eventually, the Captains took complete control after Hughes pumped two kills and Sutton added a pair of aces on the way to a 21-14 advantage. From there, the hosts rolled as Hughes came back with another blast to help seal the 25-18 victory.

With a fast one-set lead, Christopher Newport broke out quickly in the second stanza. Sutton kept her roll going with three early kills, while Ashley Rock demolished a feed from Conway to earn a 12-8 lead following a VWC timeout. Unfazed by the stoppage, McIntyre ripped a kill before Sutton and Lacy joined forces on a block to push the edge to 14-8 entering another Marlin timeout.

Holding all of the momentum, the Captains simply continued their streak after the break. Lacy chipped in with a block and blast, while Brooke Moore smashed an ace on the way to a double-digit edge at 19-8. With more than enough breathing room, Christopher Newport eased into the win. Sutton and Lacy came through with two straight kills before Rock added one last statement with another shot to help ice a 25-11 triumph.

Looking to close out the match quickly, CNU jumped out to a 12-9 advantage in the third following two kills and a block by Miller and a pair of darts by Maddie McCann. Staring at another deficit, the Marlins called for a timeout, but the stoppage did little again. Miller continued to do damage along the front line with two kills before adding an ace from the back row to snatch a 17-12 edge.

Despite a late run by Virginia Wesleyan, the Captains never lost control. Hughes and Rock added kills to extend the lead before Sutton uncorked three straight winners on the way to match-point at 24-17. Fittingly, Harper, who came through with a slew of acrobatic digs during the final two sets, added an assist on the clinching kill by Conway to seal the frame, 25-18.

Along with the defensive efforts of Harper and Crooks, Moore also collected 13 digs for CNU and posted a 14-for-14 performance on serve-receive. On the offensive end, Rock chipped in with five kills on just 10 attempts, while Sutton came through with a pair of aces.

Christopher Newport will return to action tomorrow when the squad hosts a tri-match with Frostburg State and William Peace. The action is set to begin at noon.

---CNU---