BOSTON, Mass. -- The third-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team survived a marathon day at the Beacons Invitational and came away with a pair of victories as the Captains outlasted Saint Benedict, 3-2 (25-19, 29-31, 25-27, 28-26, 15-12), before toppling UMass Boston, 3-1 (25-20, 26-28, 25-21, 25-16) on Friday at the Clark Athletic Gymnasium.

Piecing together an electric performance, Briana Sutton posted 39 kills during the two matches. She kicked off the tournament with 20 blasts against Saint Benedict before adding 19 more in the nightcap. With that performance, she finished just one kill shy of becoming the first Captain in 14 years to post 20 kills in both ends of a doubleheader. Current coach Lindsay Birch was the last to accomplish that feat on October 6, 2001.

Along with Sutton, the Captains benefited from a bevy of extraordinary efforts. Defensively, Rachel Close averaged five digs-per-set during the two matches and tallied a career-high 29 in the opener against Saint Benedict. Equally steady on the back line, Abby McIntyre pocketed 32 digs during the day, while Evelyn Harper chipped in with 21. Madi Wickens added 19 and was a perfect 26-for-26 on serve-receive as well.

Not to be outdone, Rachel Conway was magnificent. The senior setter posted 99 assists, including a career-high 58 in the opener. She also smacked six aces and contributed 15 digs during the two matches.

With the two victories, Christopher Newport improves to 7-0 on the season. The setbacks drop Saint Benedict to 2-4 and UMass Boston to 1-5.

In the opener against Saint Benedict, the Blazers gave the Captains all that they could handle. In an epic five-set thriller, CNU fell behind two sets-to-one before rallying to pull out the come-from-behind victory. After CSB won the second and third sets, the two teams engaged in a back-and-forth battle at the start of the fourth. Sutton, McIntyre, and Eliza Fisher all crushed a pair of kills, while Ashley Rock lined an ace on the way to an 11-11 tie.

Needing the set to keep the match alive, the Captains gained a little breathing room with a solid surge, highlighted by a pair of aces from Wickens, to grab a 20-17 lead. Although the Blazers were able to battle back and earn a pair of match-points late in the frame, CNU showed a steely resolve. Fisher fired two huge kills to keep the contest going before McIntyre and Hannah Miller teamed up on a block to earn set-point at 27-26. One rally later, a CSB miscue gave CNU a 28-26 triumph and forced a decisive fifth set.

After battling back through much of the match, the Captains had little interest in letting their hard work go for naught. Getting things started right, Sutton came through with two kills and a block, while Rock added a pair of blasts as well on the way to a 6-3 lead. Looking for a bigger cushion, Fisher snapped off a kill and ace to help take an 11-6 lead heading into a CSB timeout.

Following the stoppage, Saint Benedict fought back and whittled its deficit down to two at 13-11, but Christopher Newport had an answer. After calling their own timeout, the Captains turned to Conway, who quickly dropped in a kill before a Blazer error sealed the 15-12 victory.

During the match, CNU stuffed the stat sheet with an array of outstanding efforts. Close's 29 digs marked the highest total by a Captain since former All-American Abby Hogge collected 32 against Randolph-Macon on November 10, 2012. Sutton's 20 kills also marked the program's highest total since Jessie Kolden unleashed 21 against Emory on September 12, 2012.

Rounding out the history-making efforts, Conway posted 58 assists during the contest. That total is tied for the eighth-highest single-match effort in program history and equals the finest performance by a Captain since the NCAA switched to 25-point sets in 2008. Jessie Heavenrich also registered 58 assists against Eastern on November 13, 2010.

Before the Captains battled back to defeat the Blazers, the squad had a solid start to the match. After falling behind early in the first set, the team won 14 of 16 rallies during the middle of the stanza, including three aces by Conway, to grab a 15-9 lead. Although Saint Benedict was able to retie the frame at 17, CNU had an immediate response.

Sutton simply dominated the Blazers as the junior standout uncorked four kills over the course of six rallies to grab a 23-18 lead. Later, after a CSB error gave the Captains set-point, Rock and Fisher joined forces on a block to close out the 25-19 victory.

Following the solid start to the day, Christopher Newport hit a bit of a rough patch in the next two sets. In the second, Close pumped a pair of aces to highlight two strong runs by the Captains, but the squad only managed to take a modest 14-13 lead. Later, Fisher ripped three kills before Rock lined an ace on the way to a 22-16 advantage.

After a Saint Benedict timeout, the Captains struggled to close out the set. CNU watched as the Blazers won six straight rallies and eventually grabbed a 25-24 lead. Although Christopher Newport continued to fight as Sutton knocked home a pair of kills and McIntyre teamed with Rock on a block, CSB eventually escaped with a 31-29 victory.

Back on even ground, the two teams engaged in another seesaw affair in the third. Rock imposed her will along the net with three early blocks, while Sutton added two darts on the way to a 9-9 tie. Later, McIntyre smacked an ace and Rock teamed up with Conway on another rejection to keep the score knotted at 16.

Continuing to trade blows, McIntyre added a pair of kills, while Rock and Miller contributed one apiece on the way to a 25-25 deadlock. Unfortunately, Saint Benedict was able to win two straight rallies to capture the third, 27-25.

With their backs firmly planted against the wall, the Captains had an answer as the team regrouped and won the final two frames to secure the five-set victory.

Along with the historic performances against Saint Benedict, Harper was outstanding on the back row with 17 digs, while McIntyre and Wickens added double-digit totals as well. Offensively, Miller clubbed 13 kills and Fisher added 11 to help round out the top hitters.

Following the grueling five-setter, the Captains had little time to relax before retaking the court against UMass Boston in the nightcap. Although the squad got off to a sluggish start and lost six of the first seven rallies, the team quickly regrouped. Sutton bashed a pair of kills, while Rock popped one with her fist to pull within one at 7-6. Later, Maddie McCann caught fire as she slugged four kills, including a dagger off the block, which gave CNU a 12-11 edge following a UMB timeout.

After the stoppage, Sutton unleashed two more bullets, including one that ricocheted high off the wall next to the court. Still rolling, Wickens and McIntyre both uncorked aces, while Miller blistered a slide through the Beacon defense to grab set-point at 24-19. Although the hosts staved off the inevitable for one rally, Miller came back and clocked another kill to lock up the first, 25-20.

Hoping to avoid another second-set letdown, the Captains stormed out to a 15-7 lead in the frame. During the surge, Sutton registered two kills, Miller added a pair of blocks, and Wickens made a great defensive play to keep a rally alive after going down to her knees to dig out a tough Beacons' shot before Miller capped it off with a dagger.

Unfortunately, the tide quickly turned against the Captains. UMass Boston flipped the script and used an impressive surge to turn its deficit into a 22-20 advantage. Although Fisher landed a rocket along the far sideline and Conway slammed home a spike to eventually even things at 26, the Beacons landed the final two blows to steal the 28-26 victory.

Having no interest in another marathon bout, Christopher Newport retaliated in the third. In the early going, the squad showed off its serving prowess as Close lined an ace before Wickens kept the Beacons off-balance and out-of-rotation with pinpoint precision. Meanwhile, Fisher flashed her canon as she painted the back corner with a pair of early rockets before Miller put down two kills as well on the way to a 12-7 edge.

Following a brief Boston resurgence, Sutton had enough. The junior fired four kills during a late push that gave the visitors a 21-15 lead. After that, Miller blew a bullet through a double-block attempt to grab set-point before McIntyre added the clincher just three rallies later to take the third, 25-21.

One set away from bringing the day to a merciful end, Conway and Miller kicked off the fourth with two kills apiece, while Sutton abused the block with back-to-back darts on the way to an 11-8 lead. Shortly thereafter, Rock cleaned up along the net with a quick kill to force a Beacon timeout before Conway smacked back-to-back aces to push the lead to 14-9.

With some wiggle room, CNU eased into the victory. McIntyre extended the lead with a kill before Sutton added her final two blasts to push the advantage to 21-15. Following a string of UMB miscues, Conway painted the back corner with a perfectly-placed ace to close out the 25-16 victory.

Overall, Sutton finished with 19 kills and hit .308, while Miller had 13 to go along with a .321 hitting percentage. Defensively, McIntyre cleaned up with a team-high 19 digs, and Close added 16. Rounding out her tremendous performance during the day, Conway chipped in with 41 assists, six digs, four kills, and three aces during a well-balanced effort.

Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday for another twin bill. The squad will battle Tufts at 10 a.m. before wrapping up the tournament against No. 12 Eastern at 2 p.m.

---CNU---