NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- With little room for error, the 25th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team rallied to force a fifth set and overcame a late deficit in the final stanza to earn a spot in the Capital Athletic Conference Championship as the Captains pieced together a gritty effort to outlast York (Pa.), 3-2 (25-18, 16-25, 19-25, 25-14, 17-15) during a semifinal marathon on Thursday evening at the Freeman Center.

Highlighting the comeback, the Captains blistered 11 aces during the match, including six in the final two frames. Staring at a two-sets-to-one deficit, Hope Webb and Rebecca Frey lit up the Spartans with four aces during the first seven rallies in the fourth set to jumpstart the come-from-behind victory. Frey eventually finished the contest with four winners, while Webb also contributed 23 assists and six digs to balance out a well-rounded performance.

In addition to the squad's lethal attack from the service line, Abby Oren pumped 12 kills, while Katie Piper punched 11, including a violent blast that punctuated the fourth set and secured the momentum heading into the fifth frame. Meanwhile, Josie Lucernoni pocketed 26 digs on the back row, and Katie Crofford notched 16 while converting 19 of her 20 reception attempts.

With the victory, Christopher Newport improves to 24-5 on the season and advances to the CAC Championship for a rematch at Mary Washington on Saturday at 5 p.m. The setback drops York (Pa.) to 20-9.

After the Spartans stole the second and third sets, the Captains dug in. Needing to flip the script, Webb took over at the line. The junior painted the back corner with an ace early in the fourth stanza before spinning another dart off a defender. Later, Frey came back with a pair of her own as the freshman dotted the end line before cracking a Spartan with a rocket to help snatch a 7-1 lead.

Keeping the momentum in the middle of the set, Lucernoni made a pair of diving saves, including an acrobatic up along the near sideline. Meanwhile, Crofford slammed a cross-court dagger into the corner before landing an ace that caught the tape and flipped over the net. Oren also converted a roll shot, while Riley Garrison came through with two blocks, including a back-breaking solo stop, to snatch an 18-7 lead.

From there, the rout was on. Oren and Megan O'Hara landed soft tips on the way to set-point at 24-14. On the very next rally, Piper put an exclamation point on the set. Taking a feed from Lauren Tracy, the junior absolutely destroyed a defender with a screaming blast down the near sideline, which iced the 25-14 triumph.

In the fifth set, the Captains found themselves in a back-and-forth battle. Tiaralyn McBride smoked an early ace, while O'Hara notched two kills and a block on the way to a 5-5 deadlock. Later, Piper unloaded again as she flashed her cannon with a bruising kill that deflected off a Spartan and bounced deep into the bowels of the stadium for a modest 7-6 lead.

Although the Spartans responded and won six of the next eight rallies to grab a 12-9 edge, CNU never relented. Oren and Garrison teamed up on a block before back-to-back YCP miscues evened the score at 12. Later, York secured match-point at 14-13, but two more errors gave the Captains their first opportunity to close out the bout.

Following a timeout by the visitors, York tied the score again, but Christopher Newport had a little more left in the tank. Following another Spartan service error, Tracy stepped up to the line. Looking to hammer home the final nail, she fired a dart that handcuffed a defender and eventually found its way into the net to lock up the 17-15 triumph.

In her first action in nearly a month, Tracy finished with 10 assists. Ashley Burgess also handed out 15 helpers, while O'Hara clubbed 10 kills and assisted on three blocks.

Long before their late rally, the Captains got off to a strong start in the match. In the first set, Christopher Newport stormed out to a 10-4 lead, including two kills apiece by Oren and Kellyn DeChirico. Later, DeChirico came back with a block and blast, while Lucernoni peppered an ace off a back-row defender to grab an 18-7 advantage entering a YCP timeout.

Following the break, Piper fired a kill off the tip of a York block attempt before Oren landed a cross-court shot on the near sideline. Keeping the momentum, McBride found a perfect spot for an ace, which curled away from a diving Spartan and earned a 22-10 edge. Although the visitors made a push at the end, three late errors gave CNU a 25-18 win.

The second and third sets did not go quite as well for the Captains. The Spartans burst out to a 19-6 lead in the second stanza. Although Oren came back with a kill to halt a lengthy York run before McBride whistled an ace off an out-stretched defender, the visitors eased into a 25-16 win.

Keeping the momentum, YCP burst out to a 16-9 edge in the third set. Refusing to back down, the Captains retaliated. Frey smacked back-to-back aces, while Garrison laced a kill to cut the deficit to three. Later, O'Hara came through with two late darts and DeChirico added one. Although York managed to win the set, 25-19, it was Christopher Newport's relentless tenacity towards the end of the frame that helped steal back some momentum and set up the come-from-behind triumph.

DeChirico finished the contest with eight kills and a pair of blocks, while Garrison had her hand in three rejections. Crofford also contributed eight kills to go along with her terrific work on the defensive end.

---CNU---