Live Stats // Video Stream
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- The 20th-ranked Christopher Newport volleyball team will kick off Capital Athletic Conference action on Saturday at noon when the Captains host York (Pa.) in a league bout at the Freeman Center.
Entering the contest, CNU sits at 5-3 overall, including 3-1 at home. York (Pa.) is 7-4 with a 4-2 mark on the road.
For those fans unable to attend the game, live stats and a video stream will be available at CNUsports.com. Direct links to both features can be found at the top of this release and on the CNU schedule page.
Christopher Newport is looking to bounce back following a 3-2 setback at Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday. That match marked the squad's third consecutive five-set battle and the team's fifth overall this season.
Despite the setback, two Captains made history against the Marlins.
Lauren Tracy established a new single-match freshman record with 60 assists, topping the previous mark of 55 set by former All-American Brittany Collins against Averett on September 26, 2004. Her performance also stands as the sixth-highest total by any player in program history and the second-best mark since the NCAA switched to 25-point sets.
Along with Tracy,
Katie Piper unloaded 20 kills against VWU. That marked her second straight 20-kill outing after posting 21 blasts against No. 3 Wittenberg on September 8. Only five players in program history have clubbed 20 kills in back-to-back outings, while Piper and current head coach
Lindsay Birch are the only two Captains to perform the feat twice. Piper also laced 20 kills in back-to-back contests during an epic postseason run at the end of the 2017 campaign.
Overall this season, two Captains rank among the top-10 in the conference in blocks-per-set.
Mackenzie Wright is fourth with a 0.83 average, while
Riley Garrison is ninth with a 0.75 mark. Meanwhile, on the back row,
Josie Lucernoni is seventh in the league with a 3.88 digs-per-set average, and
Katie Crofford has helped out on serve-receive by converting 56 consecutive reception attempts entering Saturday.
On the offensive side, Piper is sixth in the league with a 2.82 kills-per-set average, while
Megan O'Hara is 10th with a .239 hitting percentage.
On the other side of the court, York (Pa.) comes into the weekend on a four-match roll, including back-to-back sweeps against Immaculata and New Rochelle. Prior to Saturday, the Spartans last match-up with a nationally-ranked opponent came on September 8 when the squad dropped a 3-2 decision to No. 14 Johns Hopkins. That match featured the only two sets that the Blue Jays have lost all season.
On an individual level, York (Pa.) has been carried by Madyson Whitcomb, who leads the CAC with a .475 hitting percentage. Her 115 total kills also rank fourth in the league. Additionally, Alexis Harbold leads the conference with a 5.71 digs-per-set average, while Cheyenne Altland is third in the league with a 0.89 blocks-per-set mark.
In six previous meetings, CNU boasts a pristine 6-0 record against York (Pa.). Last year, the Captains swept the Spartans in Pennsylvania. During that contest, Garrison registered 12 blocks, which marked the most by a Captain in a three-set match in program history.
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