NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The 18th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team battled back from a two-set deficit, but No. 14 Mary Washington had a little more left in the tank as the Eagles topped the Captains, 3-2 (25-23, 25-23, 24-26, 14-25, 16-14), during a Capital Athletic Conference battle on Friday evening at the Freeman Center.
 
During the contest, Tylar McGill dished out 53 assists, while Maddie McCann added a team-high 18 kills. Riley Garrison also pumped 13 blasts to go along with three blocks and a .500 hitting percentage. On the back row, Rachel Close collected 20 digs, and Evelyn Harper added 13 to go along with a perfect 26-for-26 effort on serve-receive.
 
With the setback, Christopher Newport falls to 16-6 on the season, including 3-2 in the CAC. Coupled with their loss against Salisbury last Friday, the Captains have now dropped back-to-back league matches for the first time since 2000 when current head coach Lindsay Birch was just a junior outside hitter for CNU.
 
Mary Washington now sits at 22-2 on the season following the squad's victory over CNU and late-night setback against No. 4 Southwestern.
 
After the Captains dropped the first two sets, the squad showed heart and battled back into the match. Although Mary Washington stormed out to an 11-4 lead in the third, CNU put its resiliency on full display. McCann and Katie Piper both drilled a pair of kills during the middle of the frame, while McGill laced an ace to pull the hosts back within two at 17-15.
 
Still staring at a deficit, Briana Sutton pounded a kill and McCann returned with a momentum-turning block to help even things at 19. Although Mary Washington was able to inch ahead by two later in the stanza, McCann and Garrison both hammered kills before back-to-back Eagle errors handed CNU a hard-fought 26-24 victory.
 
Back in the match, Christopher Newport got off to a fast start in the fourth. McCann put the team on her back with four early kills before Harper snapped off two straight aces on the way to an 11-5 edge. Despite a mid-set surge that pulled the visitors back within three, the Captains retaliated and pulled ahead late.
 
Garrison continued her strong evening with two more kills, Piper popped an ace, and Sutton added two blasts of her own, including the final nail off a feed from McGill, to lock up the 25-14 triumph.
 
With the match even at two sets apiece, both squads traded blows in the fateful fifth frame. McCann and Sutton led CNU with two kills each, while Garrison added an ace on the way to a 7-7 deadlock. Later, Garrison and Piper registered blocks on back-to-back rallies to keep the score knotted at 12 before Mary Washington made one final push.
 
Although Sutton and Katelyn Newsome contributed late kills for the Captains, the Eagles managed to win four of the final six rallies to ice the match with a 16-14 triumph in the fifth.
 
Sutton and Newsome both finished with nine kills for CNU, while Piper had eight on 21 swings. Overall, Christopher Newport hit .258 during the match, but Mary Washington found success early and fought back in the end to steal the victory.
 
At the start of the contest, the two nationally-ranked foes looked evenly matched in the first. Garrison got off to a fantastic start with four kills and a block on the way to a 12-9 lead. Later, Piper also roped two darts, while McCann and Garrison joined forces on another rejection to foster a 19-17 lead. Unfortunately, things quickly turned after that point.
 
Although Newsome and Sutton landed late kills, Mary Washington found a second wind and overcame the Captains on the way to a slim 25-23 victory.
 
In the second stanza, Newsome stepped up on the defensive end with three quick blocks to nail down a modest 9-7 advantage. Shortly thereafter, McCann contributed two kills to keep a slim 14-13 lead heading into a Mary Washington timeout.
 
Following the stoppage, the Eagles found their rhythm. The visitors flipped the script and nailed down a late 22-19 advantage after a CNU timeout. Although McCann and Garrison hit the opposition with late kills and McGill blistered an ace, Mary Washington eventually won the final three rallies to capture the 25-23 triumph.
 
Although the Captains showed tremendous resolve and battled back to win the next two sets, the Eagles landed the final blow in the fifth frame to earn the victory.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action on Saturday when the squad hosts a tri-match with No. 4 Southwestern and Johns Hopkins. Action gets underway at noon.
 
---CNU---