NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - The Christopher Newport and Mary Washington Volleyball teams will square off against each other on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Freeman Center in what has become an intense rivalry over the last few years.

The Captains and Eagles have combined to win the last six CAC titles with five going to CNU. The last three CAC titles all come against Mary Washington, all needing to go the full five sets to determine the champion. The two were also picked first and second in the CAC preseason poll with the Captainsbeing a unanimous #1 pick.

The teams have two common opponents thus far - Marymount and Catholic. The two are a combined 5-0 against Marymount and Catholic. CNU defeated Marymount in four sets (16-25, 25-23, 25-20, 25-19) on September 28. The Captains have faced Catholic twice, winning both in three sets by scores of 25-19, 25-20, 25-16 on September 28 and 29-27, 25-15, 25-21 on September 21. Meanwhile, Mary Washington upended the Cardinals 25-12, 25-18, 25-21 on September 17.

Additionally, the two teams rank first or second in the CAC in nearly every per set statistical category. Christopher Newport places second in kills per set, second in hitting percentage (.222), first in assists (11.70), first in service aces (2.90), fifth in digs (13.93), fourth in blocks (1.68), and first in points (17.2). Mary Washington finds themselves first in kills per set (13.02), first in hitting percentage (.237), second in assists per set (11.61), last in service aces (1.22), fourth in digs (16.15), first in blocks (2.05), and second in points (16.3).

Christopher Newport is one of the hottest teams in the country as their 11-match winning streak is the seventh longest in all of Division III. During the streak, they have dropped just three sets out of a possible 36. While they have won nearly set, they haven't just breezed their way to victory in every match. Several sets have seen the Captains fall behind only to find them regroup and display impressive resolve to make a comeback to snatch victory.

Even though they started off the season 4-6, the Captains went toe-to-toe with some of the best teams in the country, including matches against #4 Wisconsin-Eau Claire, #3 Juniata (who they defeated 3-2), #1 Emory University, #9 Berry College, #20 Mary Hardin-Baylor, and #2 Calvin College.

The Captains most recently defeated a much-improved Southern Virginia team 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-20). Leading the Captains in the match included Katie Piper (nine kills, 11 digs), Tiaralyn McBridge (four aces), Mackenzie Wright (three blocks) and Sammy Carroll (28 assists).

A telling statistic for the Captains this year has been hitting percentage and service aces. In victories, they are clubbing the ball at a rate of .257, but in losses, they have a hitting percentage of just .152. Additionally, they are delivering 3.30 service aces per set in a win with only 2.05 in defeats. The Captains have yet to lose a match in which they have an attack percentage of .200 or better at 9-0. Conversely, CNU is only 5-6 when below .200, with three of those wins coming in the 11-match win streak.

Katie Piper, Katie Crofford, and Riley Garrison top the team in kills at 2.83, 2.64, and 2.47 kills per set respectively. Piper ranks fifth in the CAC in kills while also placing eighth in service aces per set (0.46), 10th in digs per set (2.74), and fifth in points per set (3.4). She has season-highs of 16 kills, four aces, 21 digs, and four blocks. Crofford contributes across the board just like Piper, placing eighth in kills per set, second in service aces (0.55), 14th in hitting percentage (.214), 12th in digs (2.39), and sixth in points (3.4). She has produced high water marks of 16 kills, four aces, 15 digs, and four blocks. She has hit the ball at a far more efficient rate in wins - .249 - than in losses - .145. Garrison excels on both offense and defense as well, placing eighth in kills per set, second in hitting percentage (.347), fourth in blocks (0.81), and 10th in points (3.0). She registered season bests of 14 kills and seven blocks. Another Captain who shows marked improvement hitting the ball in wins, she is clubbing the ball at a monstrous rate of .404 in wins with a .224 mark in defeats.

Sammy Carroll has shown to be arguably the top rookie in the Capital this year. She boasts a league-best 9.58 assists per set while placing 10th in aces at 0.42. She has recently displayed an impressive blocking ability out of a setter, registering at least one block in six of the last seven matches, including multiple blocks in four. She recorded a season-high 47 assists in two matches and has strung together 30+ assists in 12 matches.

While Crofford is runner up in the league in service aces at 0.55, the best serving team in the league has numerous student-athletes that are proven threats on the serve as the Captains have six of the top 10 in the league in terms of aces per set. Tiaralyn McBride is fourth at 0.53 followed by Rebecca Frey at sixth (0.48), Piper eighth (0.46), Hope Webb ninth (0.42), and Carroll 10th (0.42). 

Rebecca Frey paces the teams in digs as the team's libero at 3.36 per set, good for seventh in the CAC. She additionally places sixth in service aces (0.48). She notched a season-high 30 digs against #3 Juniata with a top mark of four aces vs. Marymount. Piper (2.74) and Crofford (2.74) round out the top three on the team in digs.

In addition to Garrison's team-best and league fourth-best 0.81 blocks per set, Mackenzie Wright checks in at 0.66 (14th), Abby Oren 0.55 (17th), and Megan O'Hara 0.44 (23rd). Wright's season-high is four blocks, which she has done four times, and she recorded a high of 14 kills against Neumann. Oren has rejected three attack attempts in four matches and recorded 10 kills against Cabrini, but she has played in just one set in the last four matches. O'Hara, after seeing a stretch of just two sets played in six matches, has seen a resurgence in the last five matches, posting at least five kills in all five with 14 against Catholic. Additionally, she has eight blocks in that same stretch.

Mary Washington comes into the weekend with an 8-8 overall record behind an impressive schedule along with a 2-0 mark in league play. Mary Washington has played the eighth toughest schedule in Division III, as measured by opponent's win percentage. The Eagles are winners of their last three matches, 3-1 vs. Salisbury, 3-0 vs. St. Mary's, and 3-0 vs. Marymount. Additionally, they have defeated Geneseo, McDaniel, Virginia Wesleyan, Catholic, and DeSales.

Hitting percentage can be a tell-tale indicator for their chances at victory. In wins, they are hitting .278 with just 3.5 attack errors per set. In losses, they are hitting at only a .200 rate with 5.3 errors per set. Additionally, they are blocking 0.51 more shots per set in wins (2.31) than losses (1.80). They are 7-3 in matches in which they hit .250 or better, winning seven of the last eight, but are just 1-5 when hitting below .250.

Peyton Dunow leads the team in kills at 3.13 per set, good for third in the CAC. She additionally ranks seventh in hitting percentage at .246 and is third on the team in digs at 2.03 per set. She recorded 19 spikes against DeSales and has 10+ in 12 matches. Savannah Powers does not trail far behind in the kills department with 2.97 to place fourth in the league but she places fifth in hitting percentage at .264. She additionally ranks ninth in blocks per set at 0.75. She recorded a season-high 21 kills against Geneseo and had 19 against Salisbury this weekend. She has been on a hot streak defensively of late with 19 blocks in the last five matches. Tenley Hares rounds out the third member of the Eagles to rank top ten in the CAC in kills with 2.53 per set to place ninth. She matched her season-high this past Saturday with 12 against Salisbury.

Wren Berry paces the team in assists at 9.15 per set, trailing only CNU's Sammy Carroll on the CAC leaderboard. She had a season-high of 47 against DeSales and has come within an inch of matching that numerous times with 46 against Salisbury and 45 vs. Ithaca and Mount Union. She has been serviceable on the defensive end, having recorded at least five digs in every match while ranking second on the team at 2.10 digs per set.

Kendal Hall is averaging 4.67 digs per set, good for third in the CAC, and leads the team in aces at 0.22 per set. She racked up a season-high 28 digs against Geneseo and fell just one shy of that mark vs. Randolph-Macon and DeSales. She recently recorded three service aces vs. Marymount for her high water mark of the year.

The trio of Lexie Hendricks, Krista Rodgers, and Savannah Powers have established themselves as some of the best blockers in the conference. Hendricks is denying 0.83 attacks per set for fifth place, Rodgers checks in at 0.77 for eighth, and Powers 0.75 ranks ninth. Hendricks has 10 solo blocks this year for fourth in the CAC and tied her season-high with eight total blocks against Salisbury on Saturday. She has four matches of 5+ blocks and has 16 in the last three. Rodgers has a CAC-best 18 solo blocks and is third in hitting percentage at .310. She recorded a season-high eight rejections against Washington and Lee. She recently had a streak of 3+ blocks per match snapped by posting zero against Salisbury, her first match of the year where she failed to make a block.