Live Stats // Video Stream

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- The 25th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team will look to defend its league title on Saturday at 5 p.m. when the Captains travel to Mary Washington for the Capital Athletic Conference Championship at the Ron Rosner Arena.
 
Entering the title bout, CNU sits at 24-5 this season, while Mary Washington is 20-10. For those fans unable to attend the match, live stats and a video stream of the action will be available at UMWEagles.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the CNU schedule page.
 
The Captains earned a spot in their sixth straight CAC Championship match with a grueling five-set victory over York (Pa.) in the semifinals on Thursday. Stepping up from the service line late in the contest, Rebecca Frey hammered four aces against the Spartans, while Tiaralyn McBride popped three. Hope Webb also clubbed a pair to kick off an early surge in the fourth set to jumpstart the comeback bid.
 
Along with the servers, Abby Oren clocked 12 kills against York, and Josie Lucernoni secured 26 digs. Riley Garrison played a role in four of the squad's six blocks as well.
 
Entering the championship match, Oren is currently hitting .368 while averaging 2.12 kills per set during the CAC playoffs. Katie Piper also has a team-high 20 kills during the squad's two postseason contests, and Webb has slung seven aces while handing out 34 assists. On the defensive side, Lucernoni is averaging 4.62 digs per frame, and Kellyn DeChirico has seven blocks in the playoffs.
 
On the other side of the court, Mary Washington also earned a spot in the title match with a five-set victory on Thursday. The Eagles overcame a similar two-sets-to-one deficit to outlast Salisbury in a semifinal clash. Against the Sea Gulls, UMW posted a .277 hitting percentage. Savannah Powers led the squad with 16 kills, while Leslie Walters, Tenley Hares, and Alana Harris all had a dozen apiece.
 
Overall this season, Harris ranks fifth in the CAC with a .271 hitting percentage, while Powers is eighth in the league with a 2.45 kills-per-set average. On the back line, Ryan Cho is sixth in the CAC with a 4.54 digs-per-set mark.
 
CNU and Mary Washington previously met on October 17 with the Eagles securing a 3-0 victory in Fredericksburg. Lucernoni led the Captains with 12 digs during that contest, while Garrison contributed two aces and six blocks. UMW was paced by Harris, who unloaded 12 kills on 18 swings. Walters also popped nine kills on 13 attempts.
 
Overall, Mary Washington leads the all-time series 24-11. Saturday's bout will mark the third straight season the two squads have fought for the conference title. The Eagles posted a 3-0 sweep in the 2016 showdown before the Captains took a five-set victory in 2017.
 
---CNU---