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ATLANTA, Ga. -- The 21st-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team will kick off the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. when the Captains battle Thomas More in the Regional Quarterfinals at Emory's Woodruff Center.
                                                
Earning the Capital Athletic Conference's automatic bid, CNU enters the postseason with a 27-3 record. The squad's .900 winning percentage is currently the eighth-highest in the nation. Meanwhile, on the other side, Thomas More comes in with a 29-5 record. The Saints also picked up an automatic bid to the playoffs after winning the Presidents' Athletic Conference title last weekend.
 
The winner of Thursday's match will advance to the Regional semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. for a date with either No. 7 Emory or Worcester State. The Regional Championship will take place on Saturday at 7 p.m.
 
For those fans heading to Atlanta, single-match tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for students and seniors, and $2 for children under 12. All-session passes can also be purchased for the weekend, ranging from $7 for children to $12 for adults.
 
Fans unable to attend the Regional can still follow along with the action. Emory will provide live stats and a video stream of every match during the postseason. Links to all features can be found on the Regional homepage at EmoryAthletics.com. A direct link is available at the top of this release.
 
Throughout the 2017 campaign, the Captains have stifled the opposition with a tremendous performance on the defensive end. CNU currently ranks fourth in the NCAA with a 2.24 blocks-per-set average. The squad has also limited the competition to a miniscule .105 hitting percentage, which stands as the 19th-finest mark in the nation.
 
On an individual level, Riley Garrison ranks 17th in the NCAA with a 1.12 blocks-per-set average, while Katelyn Newsome is 35th with a 1.02 mark. Both Captains earned All-Conference accolades for their work along the net as Newsome picked up first-team nods, while Garrison was a second-team selection. Meanwhile, fellow All-CAC honoree Josie Lucernoni has been a dominant presence on the back row, posting a 4.71 digs-per-set average. That currently ranks as the third-highest rate in program history.
 
Offensively, Katie Piper leads the squad with a 3.10 kills-per-set average, and Newsome has a team-best .281 hitting percentage. Freshman Abby Oren also has 204 total blasts this year, while Katie Crofford and Tiaralyn McBride are tied for the team-lead with 37 aces apiece. Tylar McGill is averaging a team-high 5.06 assists per set as well.
 
Thomas More enters the contest on an 11-match winning streak. Overall, the Saints have lost just twice since the second week of the season, falling 3-1 to No. 13 Washington (Mo.) on October 7 and 3-0 to No. 3 Wittenberg on September 8. Four of the squad's five losses this season have come against nationally-ranked opponents.
 
Six Saints earned All-PAC accolades for their work during the year, including outside hitter Carlee Lambert, who was named the Freshman of the Year. Meanwhile, first-team selection Jenna Fessler leads the team with a 9.49 assists-per-set average, while Rachel Bronner has averaged 5.11 digs per set to go along with 44 aces. Jenna Mummert has a team-high 330 kills and 94 blocks as well.
 
CNU and Thomas More have only met twice in history with the Saints holding a 2-0 edge in the all-time series. The two programs last battled during the Centre Tournament in 2003 when Thomas More registered a 3-0 win. The only other meeting occurred in 1998 at the Averett Tournament when the Saints notched a 3-0 victory despite 11 kills from CNU's freshman outside hitter and current head coach Lindsay Birch.
 
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