NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- Katie Piper helped pace an efficient attack that carried the 22nd-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team past Salisbury, 3-0 (25-16, 25-21, 28-26), during a Capital Athletic Conference battle on Saturday afternoon at the Freeman Center.
 
Against the Sea Gulls, Piper unloaded 11 kills on 21 swings while hitting at a .476 clip. Abby Oren also hit over .400 while crushing eight kills to help carry an attack that finished the contest with a .302 hitting percentage. Setting the tone for the offense, Ashley Burgess handed out 18 assists, and Hope Webb tallied 17.
 
In a match-up featuring a collection of the finest blockers in the nation, Kellyn DeChirico stole the day with four stops, including a pair of momentum-turning solo blocks. Riley Garrison also had a hand in three of the team's seven rejections against Salisbury.
 
With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 19-4 on the season, including 5-1 in league play. The setback drops Salisbury to 13-8 with a 2-3 record against conference foes.
 
Early in the contest, the Captains set the tone from pin to pin. Piper tooled a block attempt on the far side of the court, while Garrison and Megan O'Hara joined forces on a rejection on the opposite side to secure a quick 6-2 edge. Later, during a six-point surge, Katie Crofford landed a cross-court dagger in the back corner before DeChirico sent back a pair of SU attacks to bookend a timeout on the way to a 14-6 advantage.
 
With the momentum, Piper stepped up with a huge run late in the opening frame. Flashing her full range of skills, she dropped in a roll shot, threw down an overpass, and ripped a rocket off the block to help snatch a double-digit lead at 22-12. Although the Sea Gulls inched back into the match with four straight points, the visitors eventually committed two errors before DeChirico stood tall with a huge solo block to ice the 25-16 triumph.
 
Picking up where she left off, DeChirico did some line work early in the second stanza. The senior hammered a dagger to the back line before painting the near sideline with another dart moments later. Continuing to flash her offensive chops, she capitalized on a quick hitter from Burgess before Crofford laced an ace, which helped pull CNU within one at 11-10.
 
Still staring at a deficit, the Captains regrouped during a huge surge in the middle of the frame. Ripping off seven straight points, Garrison came through with a block and blast, while Piper popped three kills. Meanwhile, at the service line, Josie Lucernoni kept the Sea Gulls on their heels, including a well-placed ace that handcuffed a pair of back-row defenders while causing them to crash into each other.
 
Capitalizing on the run, Christopher Newport stole a 17-13 lead and never looked back. Although Salisbury whittled its deficit down to two on multiple occasions, the Captains held tough. Tiaralyn McBride put on a showcase late in the stanza as she posted an elevated, acrobatic save to keep one rally alive before drilling an ace on the next play. With little left to prove, CNU took advantage of three late SU miscues to grab the 25-21 victory.
 
In the third frame, the two teams traded blows. Battling back and forth, Garrison used a gentle touch to drop a kill along the pin, while Crofford unleashed a back-row blast. Meanwhile, O'Hara tattooed a defender and sent a kill barreling into the stands before Oren lit up a pair of Sea Gulls on back-to-back darts to grab a late 19-18 lead heading into a Salisbury timeout.
 
Using anything they could to slow down the Sea Gulls, O'Hara and DeChirico teamed up on a highlight-reel block, which saw the ball ricochet off their arms before DeChirico's head finished off the rejection. Later, after a conventional block by Garrison, Burgess moved to the outside and showed off a nice touch with a looping kill to snatch match-point at 26-25.
 
Although Salisbury eventually evened the score, Crofford came back with two straight kills to close out the contest with a 28-26 triumph in the third.
 
Along with the efficient work by Piper and Oren, Garrison also clubbed eight kills for the Captains, while Crofford and O'Hara landed six apiece. Meanwhile, on the back row, Lucernoni plucked 12 digs and smoked a pair of aces. Crofford also starred on serve-receive with a pristine 23-for-23 effort, and Allie Plumlee converted all 10 of her attempts as well.
 
Christopher Newport will return to action on Wednesday when the squad continues its home stand with a 7 p.m. battle against Southern Virginia.
 
---CNU---