Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Sophomore Hannah Miller pieced together a tremendous performance to headline an incredible group effort by the Captains as the 19th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team toppled No. 11 Eastern, 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-14) and Geneva, 3-0 (25-16, 25-16, 28-26) on Friday afternoon on the first day of the Mary Washington Invitational at the Anderson Center.

In the first match against Eastern, Miller pumped 19 kills without a single attack error. That total set a new single-match program record for most kills without a miscue. She eventually finished the contest with a sizzling .528 hitting percentage to go along with six blocks on the defensive end.

Overall, Miller capped off the day with a team-high 26 kills during the two matches. Briana Sutton also had 19 blasts, while Eliza Fisher chipped in with 18 to go along with a .366 hitting percentage. Maddie McCann rounded out the big swingers with 16 kills, and Rachel Conway had a pair of double-doubles and dished out 75 assists. Combined, the team hit .326 on the first day of the tournament.

While the offense did its job beautifully, the defense also looked strong throughout the day. Brooke Moore averaged 5.86 digs per set and converted 36 of her 37 reception attempts. The Captains also came through with 14 blocks to limit the opposition to a .149 hitting percentage.

With the two victories, Christopher Newport improves to 6-0 on the season. The loss drops Eastern to 4-1, while Geneva now sits at 3-5.

In a rematch of the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament, CNU and Eastern put on an impressive show. In the first frame, the Eagles got off to a strong start and pulled out to an 11-5 edge. Refusing to back down, Sutton unloaded two kills, while Ashley Rock contributed a block and blast during a huge run that pulled the Captains back within one at 13-12.

From there, the two teams traded spurts before an ace by Sutton and a kill by Fisher helped CNU keep its deficit at one. Unfortunately, EU had just enough left as the squad snatched the final two rallies to seal the 25-22 victory.

In a hole for the first time in 2014, Christopher Newport showed a steely resolve and immediately battled back. Early in the second, Rock posted a huge solo block before Fisher sprayed the Eagles with two kills and an ace on the way to a 13-9 edge. Although Eastern was able to momentarily chip away at its deficit, Sutton smashed a pair of kills, while Miller, Rock, and Conway all added winners to secure a 19-14 lead.

Following a modest two-point run by Eastern, the Captains simply had enough and slammed the door on the second set. McCann kicked off a late six-point run with a back-breaking kill before Miller punctuated the frame with back-to-back bullets. On the final play, Rachel Close handled a free ball perfectly before Miller hammered home a pass by Conway to ice the 25-16 victory.

Back on even ground, Christopher Newport wasted little time pulling away in the third. Miller set the tone early, and the Eagles simply had no answer for the sophomore middle hitter. At the start, she punched four kills and added a solo block, while Moore and Fisher each slung aces on the way to a 16-9 lead. Later, after Eastern made a bit of run, Miller responded with a tremendous blast before Sutton added a block of her own after stoning a quick hitter off a free ball to grab a 21-16 advantage.

Once again, with a late lead, the Captains put it away. Sutton, McCann, and Fisher peppered the opposition with three kills during the span of five rallies to grab set-point. Fittingly, after assaulting the EU defense with a slew of rockets, McCann tapped in a teardrop over the out-stretched blockers to seal the third set, 25-20.

One set away from the victory, CNU put together its finest frame of the match. Fisher came through with a kill and block on the first two rallies, while Miller had three kills and two rejections on the way to an intimidating 14-6 advantage. Later, Miller added two more lasers before Abby McIntyre helped seal the victory with a nice run at the tail end of the match.

During the squad's late push, McIntyre uncorked back-to-back aces to give CNU a 20-9 lead. Later, from her perch on the back row, she fired a cross-court dart through the EU defense for her second kill of the contest. With the game in hand, the Captains turned back to Miller to lock up the win as the sophomore drove home her 19th kill of the contest off a feed from Conway to cap off the 25-14 triumph.

Overall, CNU hit .319 against Eastern and limited the Eagles to a .145 hitting percentage. In addition to Miller's big match, Fisher had 10 kills, while McCann had eight against only one error. Conway was a beast as well, finishing with 40 assists, 15 digs, five kills, and three blocks to fill out the stat sheet. Moore was also outstanding, tallying 23 digs for Christopher Newport.

With no time to celebrate, the Captains quickly returned to the court for a battle against Geneva. Still riding high after the win against Eastern, CNU jumped all over the Golden Tornadoes early in the first set. Once again, Fisher looked excellent with a block and kill, while Miller, McCann, and Sutton also chimed in with bullets to secure a 14-5 advantage. Shortly thereafter, Rock had a kill and block on back-to-back rallies before Conway and Sutton each fired aces to nab a 21-10 lead.

With little left to prove, Christopher Newport eased into the victory. Although Geneva made a minor run at the end, Conway snuck in another kill before McCann landed the final blow on the way to a 25-16 win.

Having no need to change the plan, the Captains followed the same script in the second. Conway showed off her versatility with a kill, block, and four assists during a nice early stretch before Sutton pounded Geneva with an unrelenting assault that featured four kills on the way to a 15-7 lead.

Later, Fisher caught fire again with an ace and a pair of kills before Sutton came through with two more winners as well. Although the Golden Tornadoes did a little damage at the end, Katelyn Newsome put an end to their run with a tracer off a solid feed from Brooke Sanders to lock up another 25-16 win.

Looking for a sweep, the Captains struggled a little in the early part of the third as the squad fell behind, 11-9. Miller had the answer in the middle of the frame as she registered three kills and teamed with Conway on a block to steal a 16-15 lead. Unfortunately, despite three kills by Sutton, Geneva continued to hang in the set and eventually put CNU on the brink at 24-22.

Facing set point, Christopher Newport battled back. Miller connected on a kill, McIntyre lined an ace, and GC followed with a miscue that gave the Captains the lead at 25-24. Although the Golden Tornadoes responded and earned another set point, CNU came back and finished them off.

Following another Geneva error that evened the set at 26, McIntyre landed a kill before Rock sent back on overpass, which wrapped up the three-set sweep with a 28-26 victory in the third.

Overall, Sutton led the way with 11 kills and a .304 hitting percentage. Conway also added her second double-double of the day with 35 assists and 10 digs. Moore did solid work on the back row as well with 18 digs and a perfect 17-for-17 effort on serve-receive. Miller capped off her historic day with seven kills, no errors, and three blocks against Geneva.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday with another doubleheader at the Mary Washington Invitational. The Captains will open against Randolph-Macon at 2 p.m. before battling Lynchburg at 6 p.m.

---CNU---