Live Stats // Video Stream

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The 24th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team will open up the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 12:30 p.m. when the Captains battle Bethany in the Regional Quarterfinals at Juniata's Memorial Gymnasium.
                       
CNU enters the playoffs with a 25-5 record and earned an automatic bid after claiming the program's second straight Capital Athletic Conference Championship. On the other side, Bethany will be making the program's second appearance in the NCAA Tournament after winning the President's Athletic Conference. The Bison sit at 22-9 overall.
 
For those fans unable to attend the matches, Juniata will provide live stats and a video stream of the action. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the CNU schedule page.
 
The winner of Friday's match will advance to the Regional Semifinals on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. for a showdown with the survivor of the No. 7 Thomas More - Pitt-Bradford tilt. The Regional Championship will be played on Sunday at 2 p.m.
 
Entering the postseason, Christopher Newport has ripped off four straight victories, including back-to-back five-set thrillers to win the CAC title. So far this season, the Captains rank sixth in the NCAA in total blocks (248.5) and 12th in blocks-per-set (2.20). Guided by those efforts, CNU has limited the opposition to a .133 hitting percentage this year. Opponents have hit below .100 in 10 matches and registered a negative hitting percentage on three occasions.
 
Leading the way up front, Riley Garrison is 10th in the NCAA with 124 blocks and 18th with a 1.14 blocks-per-set average. The All-Conference and All-Region honoree has posted at least five rejections in 13 of her appearances. Meanwhile, fellow front-row star Megan O'Hara has 99 blocks this season, and Kellyn DeChirico has 30 stops during the last three weeks alone.
 
Equally adept on the back row, Lucernoni joined O'Hara and Garrison on the All-Conference and All-Region teams. The senior libero is averaging 4.30 digs per set, while Katie Crofford ranks second on the squad with 264 digs and boasts a team-best .960 reception percentage.
 
Offensively, Katie Piper leads CNU with a 2.65 kills-per-set average. O'Hara, Garrison, and Abby Oren are also averaging over two kills per set. At the setter position, Hope Webb, Lauren Tracy, and Ashley Burgess have all made significant contributions this year. Collectively, the Captains are averaging 11.28 assists per set while boasting a .219 hitting percentage.
 
On the other side, Bethany has won five straight matches entering the NCAA Tournament, including a 3-0 win over Westminster to claim the PAC Championship. The Bison boast a strong back-row defense, which is averaging 19.17 digs per set this year. That ranks as the 26th-best clip in the country. On an individual level, Reilly Parker is 27th in the NCAA with a 5.70 digs-per-set average.
 
Along the net, Katie Sparks has been a consistent presence for Bethany. She sits in the top-25 nationally in kills-per-set (4.11), points-per-set (4.72), total kills (432), and total attacks (1,315). The junior eclipsed 1000 career kills in her last outing after clubbing 17 in the conference title match. She has recorded at least 10 kills in 13 straight appearances and has 20 or more on five occasions.
 
Friday's match-up will mark the third all-time meeting between CNU and Bethany. Christopher Newport won both previous contests, including a 3-0 triumph in 2015 at the Freeman Center. No current Captains played in that match, but Reilly Parker had 14 digs for the Bison. Fellow Bethany seniors Emily Duke and Keili Terry also saw time during that tilt.
 
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