Live Stats / Live Video
SALISBURY, Md. -- The ninth-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team will open up Capital Athletic Conference action on Tuesday evening when the Captains head to Salisbury for a 7 p.m. battle at the Maggs Physical Activity Center.
Entering league play, CNU is riding a five-match winning streak and currently stands at 16-1 on the season. Salisbury has won its last two contests and boasts a 14-5 mark so far this year.
Long-time rivals, the Captains hold a slim 14-13 lead in the all-time series against the Sea Gulls. In their first season as league foes last year, CNU posted a pair of victories, including a 3-0 triumph in the CAC Championship Match at the Freeman Center. Both programs eventually advanced to the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
For those fans unable to make it to Salisbury on Tuesday, the Sea Gulls will provide live stats and a video stream of the action at SUSeaGulls.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the CNU schedule page.
Beginning the defense of their 2013 CAC Title, the Captains enter their league slate with a well-balanced offense. CNU's sophomore class has been outstanding during non-conference action as
Briana Sutton,
Hannah Miller, and
Maddie McCann all have at least 150 kills. Sutton leads the way with 182 to go along with a .299 attack percentage. Miller has also unloaded 174 while hitting .400, and McCann has 154 blasts.
Adding power on the right-side, freshman
Eliza Fisher has been strong as well. The southpaw has 119 kills and is hitting .265. She has also pumped 20 aces.
Rachel Conway, the reigning CAC Player of the Week, has helped stabilize the attack and is among the top-10 nationally with a 10.72 assists-per-set average. In her last outing, she posted 44 assists against Averett on Friday, marking the most by a Captain in a three-set match since 2010.
On the defensive end,
Brooke Moore collected her 1,000th career dig against Averett and is averaging 4.17 digs-per-set. Along the front line, Miller leads CNU with 49 blocks, while
Ashley Rock has 37. Conway has contributed 33 rejections as well.
Salisbury enters Tuesday on a two-match roll after topping Haverford and Widener on Saturday during the final day of the Eastern Invitational. Shannon Russell led the Sea Gulls during the two matches as she registered a pair of double-digit kill efforts. The sophomore pumped 12 in the opener against Haverford before adding 10 while hitting .471 against Widener.
Overall this season, Salisbury has been paced by Katie Stouffer, who leads the CAC with a 3.69 kills-per-set average. The second-year standout is hitting .279 and also boasts 27 blocks. Michelle Meehan has had a great start to the year as well, leading the team with 38 aces while averaging 4.53 digs-per-set on the back row.
After Tuesday's match, Christopher Newport will return to action on Friday for the start of the Pikes Peak Challenge in Colorado Springs. The Captains will open up the two-day tournament with a doubleheader against UC Santa Cruz and Colorado College.
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