Live Video // Live Stats
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The 20th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team will kick off the postseason on Tuesday at 7 p.m. when the Captains host York (Pa.) in the first round of the Capital Athletic Conference Tournament at the Freeman Center.
CNU earned the No. 3 seed in the playoffs after finishing the regular season with a 23-8 record, including a 7-2 mark in league action. Meanwhile, York punched its ticket to the postseason as the No. 6 seed after registering a 21-9 record with a 4-5 ledger in the CAC.
Tickets for Tuesday's match will be $5 for adults and $3 for children.
For those fans unable to make it to the game, live stats and a video stream of the action will be available at CNUsports.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the CNU schedule page.
A LOOK AT THE CAPTAINS
Coming into the playoffs, CNU has been led by an impressive duo in the middle of the front row.
Riley Garrison and
Hannah Miller have anchored the attack and currently rank among the top-five in the CAC in hitting percentage. Garrison sits second in the league with a .318 mark, while Miller is third with a .303 average. Equally effective on the defensive end, Miller is second in the league with a 1.13 blocks-per-set rate, and Garrison is sixth at 0.85.
Along with the middle blockers,
Maddie McCann is fourth in the CAC with 309 total kills, and
Hope Webb is second with a 9.33 assists-per-set average. The freshman setter also stands seventh in the league with 41 aces. Meanwhile, on the back row,
Rachel Close has pieced together a tremendous senior season and ranks second in the conference with 460 digs.
LAST TIME OUT
On Saturday, Christopher Newport wrapped up the regular season by splitting a pair of five-set marathons at Marymount. First, the Captains upended the Saints, 3-2, in a CAC bout. Miller led the team with 14 kills and seven blocks, while
Briana Sutton added 11 kills as well. Later in the day, CNU returned to the court and dropped a 3-2 decision to Messiah in a non-conference showdown. McCann totaled 16 kills against the Falcons, and Miller came back with 13. Webb also contributed her fourth double-double of the year with 40 assists and 12 digs.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
York earned a spot in the postseason after topping Penn State Harrisburg, 3-0, in the regular season finale on Saturday. Eryn Brady led the Spartans with eight kills and three blocks to help the program secure its first trip to the playoffs in four years.
Overall this season, YCP has been led by a strong effort on the defensive side of the ball. Madyson Whitcomb leads the Capital with a 1.19 blocks-per-set average, while Alexa Harbold ranks second in the league with a 4.65 digs-per-set mark. Meanwhile, on the offensive end, Brady has a team-high 227 kills to go along with a .282 hitting percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
York and CNU have met four times with the Captains holding a 4-0 record in the series. The two squads last met on October 21 when Christopher Newport notched a 3-0 victory at the Freeman Center. During the match,
Katie Piper led the hosts with 10 kills, and Webb finished with 33 assists and five aces. On the other side, Hannah McMaster collected seven kills for the Spartans, and Harbold picked up a match-high 19 digs.
UP NEXT
The winner of Tuesday's contest will travel to Salisbury for a showdown with the second-seeded Sea Gulls in the CAC semifinals on Thursday.
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