Chastity Lacy
Ryan M. Kelly

Volleyball

CNU Volleyball Welcomes Mary Washington to Town on Wednesday for Senior Day

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – In the final week of the regular season, the Christopher Newport volleyball team will host Senior Day on Wednesday as the Captains cap off their scheduled home slate with a 7 p.m. battle against Capital Athletic Conference foe Mary Washington at the Freeman Center.

Looking to close out the regular season on a high note, CNU enters the week with a 19-12 overall record and a 6-0 mark in league action. Although the Captains have three more contests left on their schedule, they have clinched a home match in the upcoming CAC playoffs. The final seedings and postseason schedule will be finalized after the upcoming week of action.

Losing just one match in the past two weeks, Mary Washington also comes in on a hot-streak and currently sits at 15-9 overall and 5-1 in the CAC. The Eagles are in third-place in the conference standings and have also clinched a home match in the league playoffs.

In 27 all-time meetings between the two programs, Mary Washington holds a 21-6 advantage in the series. However, Christopher Newport has won the last two showdowns, including a 3-0 victory during the CNU Invitational in 2011.

Not only will Wednesday's match be an important on-court test for the Captains, but it will also serve as Senior Day as the team honors the achievements of its lone veteran, Chastity Lacy. In her four years with the Captains, she has established herself as one of the program's most intimidating figures along the net.

On the defensive end, Lacy has been a disruptive force, ranking seventh in CNU history with 293 blocks. Earlier this year, she became just the fourth Captain ever to record 100 rejections in back-to-back seasons. Currently, she leads the Capital Athletic Conference and ranks in the top-20 nationally with a 1.18 blocks-per-set average. That mark is also the fourth-highest rate in program history.

In addition to her work on the defensive end, Lacy ranks second on the team with 195 kills and 28 aces. As efficient as she is effective, the Crozet, Virginia native is hitting at a .256 clip after ranking fifth in the USA South with a .304 mark last year.

Settling in alongside Lacy, freshmen Briana Sutton and Hannah Miller have also anchored the front row for the Captains this year. Sutton leads Christopher Newport with 225 kills and a .263 hitting percentage, while Miller is third on the squad with 186 blasts. She also ranks second with 78 blocks, including a team-high 26 solo stops.

Along with the front-line players, Brooke Moore has helped pace the defense from the back row with 271 digs. She has been especially effective lately, collecting seven double-digit dig efforts in her last 10 outings. Rachel Close has also collected 271 digs, while Rachel Conway leads the squad with 585 assists to go along with 71 blocks.

Vying for a top-two seed in the upcoming conference tournament, Mary Washington has ripped off five victories in its last six matches. So far, the squad's only league loss came at the hands of Salisbury in a 3-1 decision in Maryland on October 11.

Emma Olson has paced Mary Washington with a 6.37 assists-per-set average while also notching 34 aces and 166 digs. Along the net, Kaitlynn Wickersham has 228 kills, and Emma Murphy leads the way with 42 blocks. Wickersham has contributed a team-high 292 digs as well.

---CNU---
Print Friendly Version