YORK, Pa. -- The 10th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team capped off the regular season in perfect fashion as the Captains finished undefeated in Capital Athletic Conference action after taking down York, 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-14), on Saturday afternoon at the Charles Wolf Gymnasium.

After securing the regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming CAC Tournament earlier this week, the Captains handled their business with another strong outing in the finale on Saturday. During the match, Briana Sutton led the way with 13 kills to go along with a .476 hitting percentage. Hannah Miller also drubbed seven kills and added three blocks, while Rachel Conway smacked six kills and four aces to go along with 28 assists.

Incredibly, four Captains had at least five kills without committing a single attack error. In addition to Miller and Conway, who posted spotless efforts, Maddie McCann and Eliza Fisher both unloaded five blasts without a blemish.

On the defensive end, Brooke Moore picked up a team-best 10 digs, while Rachel Close added eight. Abby McIntyre excelled on the back row as well with seven digs and three aces.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 29-3 on the season and 9-0 in the CAC. It marks the eighth straight season that the Captains have finished undefeated in league action. Following the setback, York stands at 10-21 with a 3-6 mark in league action.

Setting the tone right out of the gate, Moore smacked the first of CNU's 12 aces on the second rally of the match. Sutton and Fisher also found their rhythm quickly with a pair of kills each, while Miller contributed a block and blast on the way to an 11-6 advantage. Later, Sutton pounded the opposition with three more darts before Krista Hughes blasted one of her own to push the advantage to double-digits at 21-11.

With the set all but sealed up, the Captains rolled to the win. Fisher opened up the late push after spinning a rocket off the York block to snatch a 23-15 lead. Later, Moore made an impressive diving dig and McCann hammered home back-to-back kills to cap off the 25-16 triumph.

Leading by a set, Christopher Newport made quick work of the Spartans in the second. Fisher got things jumping with an ace and kill before Hughes roped a shot and teamed with Sutton on a block to grab an 11-3 edge heading into a York timeout. Although the hosts were able to steal the next rally, Sutton landed another kill before Conway dominated at the service line.

Spraying bullets all over the court, the junior setter chucked four straight aces during a seven-point surge which gave the visitors a tremendous 18-4 lead. Shortly thereafter, the Captains continued to frustrate the YCP defense. Although the Spartans were able to get a hand on three straight attack attempts along the net during one rally, CNU continued to hammer away. Finally, Sutton put an end to the madness after she took a feed from Brooke Sanders and simply blistered a rope right through the blockers for a 19-5 lead.

Easing into the victory once again, Katelyn Newsome showed off a well-balanced skill set with a block and ace on back-to-back rallies to push the lead to 15. Although the Spartans were able to snatch a few winners in the waning moments of the frame, Miller and Sutton clocked a pair of kills to close out the 25-11 victory.

Looking for their eighth straight sweep in conference action, the Captains bolted out to another big lead in the third. Miller opened things with a kill and block in the early going before Conway dropped in a floater and McIntyre slung an ace to steal a 7-4 lead. Later, the visitors flashed some muscle as Miller crushed a kill that ricocheted off a defender and landed at the foot of the stands. Sutton also crashed the party with a pair of bullets, while Hughes added a solo block to snatch a 12-5 lead.

After that point, Sutton ripped four more kills during the tail end of the set, while Conway dropped in a pair. The Captains continued to serve the ball beautifully as well. Moore and Fisher each unloaded aces during a mid-set streak before McIntyre clocked two straight winners, which helped cap off the frame, 25-14.

Overall, CNU finished the match with a .409 hitting percentage and committed just four errors during the entire contest. Defensively, the Captains held the Spartans to a .100 mark, highlighted by six blocks. Hughes was strong on both sides of the ball with four kills and two rejections, while Fisher added a pair of stops as well.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Thursday for the semifinals of the CAC Tournament. With the top-seed, the Captains earned a first-round bye and will host the match at the Freeman Center. More details will be available after the remainder of the postseason field is determined.

---CNU---