Box Score

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Guided by a season-best 19 blocks and three double-digit kill performances, the Christopher Newport volleyball team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament as CNU survived a five-set thriller against Cabrini, 3-2 (19-25, 25-13, 25-27, 25-23, 15-12) on Friday afternoon at Juniata's Memorial Gymnasium Court.

During the NCAA opener, the Captains held the Cavaliers to a .161 hitting percentage and recorded 19 blocks, which marked the most by CNU since September 14, 2012. Chastity Lacy assisted on 10 of those rejections, while both Krista Hughes and Hannah Miller helped out on eight stops.

On the offensive end, Briana Sutton and Harper Smith each unloaded 16 kills apiece, and Miller chimed in with 12 to balance out a tremendous effort by the first-year standout. Rachel Conway also contributed a career-high 50 assists and chucked three of the team's five aces.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 25-12 on the season and advances to the second round of the tournament for the fifth straight year. The Captains will square off with No. 17 Eastern at 3:30 p.m. tomorrow afternoon. The Eagles earned their spot in the second round following a three-set sweep against Johns Hopkins earlier on Friday.

After falling behind two sets to one against Cabrini (29-5), the Captains showed a steely resolve as the squad clawed back into the match. Following a heart-breaking 27-25 setback in the third frame, Christopher Newport regrouped in the fourth. Smith and Miller got things rolling as the two freshmen each punched a kill and teamed up on a block. Later, Sutton drilled a pair of darts before Lacy and Smith followed with back-to-back kills on the way to a modest 11-9 lead.

Although the Cavaliers responded and even secured a slim 16-15 advantage, CNU remained undeterred. Following a pair of Cabrini miscues, Conway slammed an ace before Lacy and Hughes joined forces on three straight blocks during a six-point run that lifted the Captains to a 21-16 lead. Once again, Cabrini battled back and retied the set at 23, but Hughes came through with the tie-breaker before a Cavalier error gave Christopher Newport a 25-23 victory.

Back on even ground in the match, the Captains simply had a little more left in the tank in the fateful fifth frame. After momentarily falling behind, CNU picked up three kills by Smith and a pair of blocks by Miller to grab a 6-4 edge. Later, Sutton took control with three blasts to push the lead to four at 12-8.

Three points away from the victory, Christopher Newport held off a valiant Cabrini run to cap off the contest. After the opposition pulled back within one, Miller came through with another dart to earn match-point before Conway closed out the game with one final kill to ice the 15-12 win.

Miller posted a team-high .308 hitting percentage against the Cavaliers, while Smith and Sutton both hit above .270. Brooke Moore was strong along the back row with 15 digs during the match, and Abby McIntyre contributed 11 as well.

Although Friday ended well, the beginning of the contest was a bit rocky. Facing Cabrini for the first time in program history, Christopher Newport fell behind in the first set, 8-4. Despite a solid run by Sutton in the middle of the stanza, which featured two kills and a pair of blocks, the Captains could not regroup. CNU did earn a late one-point edge at 17-16, but the Cavaliers stole nine of the final 11 rallies to take the set, 25-19.

After Cabrini landed the first blow, Christopher Newport fired right back in the second. Miller was nearly unstoppable in the early part of the frame as the freshman unloaded four quick kills. Smith also came through with a big effort after collecting a block and two blasts on the way to an 11-7 lead.

Refusing to let Cabrini back in the set, Moore blistered an ace, while Conway added a kill and three assists to help the squad earn an intimidating 20-12 advantage. Although the Cavaliers momentarily broke CNU's momentum, the team never lost its footing as Smith and Sutton fired two straight shots before Conway smacked an ace to seal the 25-13 victory.

With the match tied at one set apiece, Cabrini stormed out in the third stanza and won the first eight rallies to put the Captains in a bit of a bind. Resilient, Smith peppered the Cavaliers with two kills before Lacy assisted on three crucial blocks to whittle the team's deficit down to three at 15-12.

With some work left to do, CNU continued attacking following a Cabrini timeout. Smith popped an ace, Sutton added two kills, and Miller stymied the opposition with a spectacular solo block to tie the set at 23. Shortly thereafter, Sutton and Smith each collected kills to keep the set deadlocked, but the Cavaliers survived in the end as the team pulled out a 27-25 win.

Fortunately, the Captains never backed down and swiped the final two frames to lock up the five-set victory.

---CNU---