NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Behind another sensational effort from Rachel Close, who was honored as the tournament's Most Valuable Player, the 11th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team closed out the Captains Classic with a pair of victories on Saturday as CNU upended Wisconsin-Platteville, 3-0 (25-15, 25-23, 25-14), before downing UMass Boston, 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-19), at the Freeman Center.
 
Close was electric throughout the tournament as the senior libero averaged 5.31 digs-per-set while also converting 39 of her 40 reception attempts. Her efforts on the back row helped limit the opposition to an .080 hitting percentage over the four matches.
 
Along with Close, Maddie McCann and Hope Webb also secured spots on the All-Tournament team. McCann led the Captains with 48 kills while also adding 11 blocks. Overall, her 3.69 kills-per-set average marked the highest of any player in the tournament. Meanwhile, Webb posted an 11.08 assists-per-set average and rounded out her weekend with eight blocks and four aces.
 
In addition to the three Captains, four other players were honored for their efforts during the weekend. UMass Boston's Elizabeth Glavan and Melanie Fyda joined Stevenson's Annika Schwartz and Lawrence's Rachel Barthel on the All-Tournament team.
 
During Saturday's twin bill, McCann roped 24 kills and hit at a .340 clip, while Katie Piper finished with 23 blasts. On the defensive side, Close pocketed 57 digs during the two bouts, and Hannah Miller continued her dominant performance along the net with nine blocks, including a pair of solo stops.
 
With the two victories, Christopher Newport improves to 4-0 on the season. UMass Boston wrapped up the tournament with a 3-1 record, while Wisconsin-Platteville finished 0-4.
 
Following Friday's sweep, the Captains returned to the court on Saturday flush with confidence. Fittingly, the hosts jumped out early in the opener against Wisconsin-Platteville behind an imposing defensive performance. Miller and McCann teamed up on a pair of early blocks, while Close kept a rally alive with great pursuit on a deflected shot, which eventually resulted in a rainbow kill by McCann.
 
Looking to pull away in the middle of the frame, Piper and Katelyn Newsome pounded a pair of kills, which helped the squad grab an 11-5 edge heading into a Pioneer timeout. Later, Miller showed off her arsenal as she drilled a shot off a defender before adding a deep floater into the back corner on the way to a 19-12 lead.
 
With a nice cushion, CNU eased into the victory. Evelyn Harper joined the fun after digging a spinner over the net that kicked off a defender and found the floor. Moments later, Newsome hammered a rocket off the head of a blocker before McCann obliterated a defender with a bullet of her own to clinch the first set, 25-15.
 
In the second stanza, Close blanketed the court with unrelenting hustle as she corralled two digs on one rally before pushing a free ball over to Webb, who dumped an early kill. McCann also added three quick blasts, and Miller punched a pair on the way to a 6-0 lead and a fast UWP timeout.
 
Following the stoppage, the visitors were able to chip away at their deficit and eventually snuck out to a modest 15-13 lead following a mid-set surge. Despite the stumble, the Captains regrouped. Josie Lucernoni took control at the line and used pinpoint precision on a pair of serves, which led to an unsettled defense and a pair of Pioneer errors that gave CNU the lead.
 
The back-and-forth continued late in the frame as Miller painted the corner with a cross-court shot and blistered a screamer off an overpass to highlight a six-point run by CNU before Wisconsin-Platteville retaliated with a five-point streak. Fortunately, the Captains had enough left in the tank to close out the frame as Piper added the final three kills, including a pinball shot that deflected off a pair of defenders and helped seal the 25-23 triumph.
 
After the seesaw struggle in the second, Christopher Newport jumped out fast in the third. McCann and Miller joined forces on a block and added a pair of early kills before Piper and Newsome toyed with the UWP front line. Piper rolled a shot off a block attempt along the far pin before Newsome did the same on the near side to nail down a 10-5 edge.
 
Still rolling, Newsome put her defensive skills on display during an imposing run in the middle of the frame. The junior standout teamed with Riley Garrison on back-to-back rejections before adding another stop to push the lead to double-digits. With more than enough breathing room, Piper clocked two more kills before Mary Kathryn Hall blew a shot through a block attempt to cap off the match with a 25-14 victory in the third.
 
Overall, Piper finished with 12 kills against the Pioneers, while Miller tallied 11 and five blocks. On the back row, Close notched 17 digs, Harper added 16, and the two seniors combined for a pristine 23-for-23 effort on serve-receive. Katie Crofford also converted all eight of her reception attempts as the team limited Wisconsin-Platteville to just a single ace.
 
Following a brief respite, Christopher Newport returned to the court for a showdown with UMass Boston in a battle featuring a pair of reigning NCAA Tournament teams. Once again, McCann was at the forefront of the action as the senior dropped in two early kills, including an acrobatic tip off an errant pass. Later, Miller won a joust at the net by out-muscling a Beacon attacker for a huge solo block, which gave the hosts a 10-4 lead and forced a Boston timeout.
 
Following the break, the Captains continued to cruise. Harper lined a serve that caught the tape and dripped over for a well-placed ace. She also made a nice hustle play on a tough ricochet as she chased down the ball near press row before digging it back on the court, which led to a kill by Miller. Later, Miller added two more darts, Newsome skied for a thunderous solo block, and McCann smacked a rope off a back-row defender to lock up the first set, 25-11.
 
In the second, McCann hit the visitors with a pair of kills, while Miller caught the defense over-pursuing and found a soft spot along the near sideline on the way to a slim 7-6 lead. Continuing the close battle, McCann added three more kills in the middle of the stanza, including a roller that caught the top of the net and rode the tape before dropping into open spaces. Shortly thereafter, Webb found a seam with a blistering ace that knotted the score at 16 and forced a Beacon timeout.
 
Following the break, McCann blasted a kill off a blocker's dome before Garrison built an impenetrable wall along the net that led to three rejections in the span of four rallies. Holding a 22-19 lead, the Captains turned back to McCann, who played the angles and drilled a shot off the block before a pair of Boston errors gave CNU a 25-19 victory.
 
One set away from their second sweep of the day, the hosts looked ready to wrap things up quickly. Garrison continued her defensive showcase with another early block, while Piper flashed strength and savvy with a tip and bullet on back-to-back rallies that helped CNU notch a 9-6 edge.
 
After that point, the two teams traded punches in the middle of the frame. Eventually, the Beacons pulled within one at 18-17, but the Captains had enough. Newsome and Garrison made the visitors pay for a pair of missteps as they sent back two overpasses late in the stanza. Newsome also added a tip that helped earn the squad match-point before McCann added the final punctuation mark with a bullet off a defender to ice the 25-19 victory.
 
McCann finished the match with 15 kills and a .379 hitting percentage, while Piper chipped in with 11 darts. Defensively, Close came up with 10 digs, while Miller, Garrison, and McCann all had four blocks. Harper and Lucernoni also combined for a pristine 18-for-18 effort on serve-receive.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action next weekend when the squad heads to Huntington, Pennsylvania for the Juniata / ASICS Invitational. On Friday, the Captains will open up against the host Eagles, who enter the tournament ranked third in the nation. On Saturday, CNU will face No. 2 Wittenberg and Carnegie Mellon, who sits just outside of the top-25.
 
---CNU---

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