ARLINGTON, Va. -- The 20th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team wrapped up the regular season by splitting a pair of five-set marathons as the Captains upended Marymount, 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 15-12), before falling to Messiah, 3-2 (22-25, 23-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-11), during a tri-match on Saturday at the Verizon Sports Arena.
 
With the victory over the Saints, CNU locked up the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Capital Athletic Conference Tournament and will host a first-round match against York (Pa.) on Tuesday. Overall, Christopher Newport enters the postseason with a 23-8 record, including a 7-2 mark in league action.
 
During Saturday's tri-match, Hannah Miller led the Captains with 27 kills and 12 blocks, while Maddie McCann added 26 kills and six rejections. Hope Webb also dished out 84 assists during the two contests, and Rachel Close pocketed 36 digs. Riley Garrison chipped in with nine blocks during the twin bill as well.
 
Kicking things off against Marymount, the Captains used a lethal combination from the service line to keep the score tight in the first set. Webb, Miller, and Evelyn Harper all dropped aces on the Saints during the early going, while Briana Sutton added a block and blast on the way to a 13-13 deadlock. Later, Sutton split a pair of diving defenders with a missile before Miller came back with her second ace of the frame to snatch a 20-18 lead heading into an MU timeout.
 
Following the break, Garrison and Katie Piper teamed up on a block and added one kill apiece, but the Saints retaliated. Eventually, the hosts used a late push to steal seven of the last 10 rallies and lock up the 25-23 triumph.
 
After winning the opening set, Marymount inched out to a modest 8-7 lead before CNU unloaded in the second. Miller stepped up with a pair of blocks, while McCann blasted a kill off the face of a defender. Later, McCann added two more shots, including a rocket off a block attempt, to grab a 15-10 advantage. Still motoring along after an MU timeout, Piper flashed her muscle and decked a pair of Saints with two kills to extend the lead to 22-15.
 
In control, Miller torched a block attempt before Katie Crofford ripped a serve that was mishandled and eventually led to an easy kill by Webb to earn set-point at 24-17. Following a little run by the Saints, Miller came back with the final punctuation mark after dropping in a tip to seal the 25-20 triumph.
 
After evening the match at one set apiece, the Captains continued to attack in the third. McCann and Sutton both tooled block attempts, and Piper smashed a kill off a defender that nearly took out the Marymount water coolers behind the MU bench. Crofford also added a diving dig that led to a circus kill after the ball trickled over the net and dropped to the court to take a 10-9 lead.
 
Although the Saints responded and won five straight rallies to notch a 14-10 advantage, CNU called for a timeout and regrouped. After the break, Miller sent back an overpass, floated a kill off the tip of a block attempt, and unloaded a rocket to even the score at 20. Webb also punched a free ball into open spaces and slammed home another kill before McCann added a block and blast to nail down set-point at 24-21.
 
Two rallies later, Piper tipped a kill over the block and onto the sideline to ice the 25-22 victory.
 
Staring at a deficit, Marymount battled back in the fourth. Although Webb handcuffed a defender with an ace, and Sutton bounced a pair of kills off the Saints, the hosts slipped out to a 15-10 lead. Fighting back, Sutton and Garrison teamed up on a block and added a pair of kills to cut the deficit down to one, but the Saints never lost their lead.
 
Although McCann added two late kills, Marymount managed to even the match with a 25-20 triumph in the fourth.
 
Entering the final frame, the Captains got off to a quick start. Garrison laced an ace, while Miller and Sutton teamed up for a block and two kills to gain a 6-3 edge entering a Marymount timeout. Following the stoppage, Miller showed off on both sides of the ball. First, the senior elevated for a kill off a feed from Webb. Moments later, she went to her knees for a tremendous dig on the back row before Garrison and McCann joined forces on a block to grab an 8-5 lead.
 
Continuing to pull away, Garrison came back with an out-stretched kill before a flurry of Marymount service errors helped CNU earn a 12-9 lead. Needing three more points, Miller did the rest. She hammered a slide and stoned an attack to earn match-point. Three rallies later, after a CNU timeout, she threw down her 14th kill to lock up the 15-12 victory.
 
Along with Miller's efforts, Sutton added 11 kills, while Webb stuffed the stat sheet with 44 assists, nine digs, five kills, and four blocks. Meanwhile, on the back end, Close registered 18 digs and was a perfect 21-for-21 on serve-receive. Harper was also flawless on 25 attempts.
 
Following the grueling five-set victory, Christopher Newport carried the momentum over into the nightcap. McCann and Katelyn Newsome dropped two kills apiece on Messiah in the beginning of the first set, while Miller chipped in with a block and kill to help grab a 13-8 lead. Later, Miller added another blast and rejection on back-to-back rallies to push the advantage to six at 19-13.
 
Although the Falcons battled back and whittled their deficit down to one, CNU had an answer. Garrison snapped off a kill and ace to earn set-point before Miller capped off the frame with one last dagger to seal the 25-22 triumph.
 
Adhering to the same script in the second stanza, the Captains vaulted out to another early lead. McCann and Newsome got the fans jumping again with two kills apiece before Miller added four of her own to snare a 14-9 lead following a Messiah timeout. Although the stoppage paid dividends and allowed the Falcons to even the score at 17, Christopher Newport stepped up on both sides of the ball to close out the frame.
 
Miller teamed up with Newsome and Webb on a pair of blocks to stifle the Messiah attack. Later, McCann slammed home two kills to earn set-point before an MC error gifted CNU a 25-23 triumph.
 
Unfortunately, after grabbing a two-set lead in the match, things quickly went awry for the Captains. In the third, Messiah jumped out to a 12-5 edge heading into a CNU timeout. The break did little to stem the tide as the Falcons continued to push. Although Miller punched three kills in the middle of the stanza and Garrison added a pair of late winners, Messiah walked away with a 25-13 victory.
 
With the momentum firmly planted on the opposing sideline, Christopher Newport faced another big deficit in the fourth. Sutton did all she could with three quick kills, while McCann added a pair of her own, but Messiah flew out to a tremendous 20-10 lead. Although three MC errors gave CNU some renewed hope late in the contest, the Captains simply could not capitalize on the miscues and dropped another 25-13 decision.
 
Tied at two sets apiece, the Falcons continued their late-match push in the fifth. Sutton hammered three early kills, while McCann and Miller teamed up on a block, but Messiah wiggled out to a 7-4 lead heading into a CNU timeout. Following the break, McCann blistered two kills before Garrison and Piper teamed up on a pair of blocks, which helped flip the script and gave the Captains a 9-8 lead.
 
Unfortunately, the Falcons had an answer. Despite late kills by Sutton and Miller, Messiah won seven of the last nine rallies to close out the epic comeback with a 15-11 victory in the fifth.
 
Overall, McCann had 16 kills for CNU, while Miller contributed 13 in the nightcap. Sutton also chipped in with six on just 13 swings in three sets of work. Meanwhile, Webb handed out 40 assists and secured 12 digs for her fourth double-double of the season. Close added 18 digs as well.
 
---CNU---